東京 1999 〜 2001

Learning it @ school at the moment.
It sure if fun :D !

Stuff like PHP,MySQL,C++,Visual Basics etc.

Those photos make me wanna go to Japan even more :D!

Thx for post danny :) u rule !

wow you have came along way danny

September 11 was a sad day, not that I realised its significance at the age of 11! Our substitute teacher was crying because of it. Ironically someone in my class had their b'day on that day. I know another 2people who share that same b'day. Scary isn't it.

And yes, Sony is awesome :D

Turned 13 in 2000. Didn't get the PS2 until two years later. Ironically (almost clairvoyantly), on the morning of September 11th 2001, I woke up sweating from a nightmare where I watched a very tall building burn before it collapses. You can imagine how surprised I am when I turned on the television to watch the news. Whoah, deja vu!

HTML, PHP, XML, C++, MySQL. Work history is impressive Danny. Can't believe Akihabara in the olden days were mostly for electronics and hardly any service like maid cafes. Reminds me of a University course in waterloo, ECON 101, when the prof talked about developing countries and developed countries. Developing countries rely heavily on physical objects for wealth, but developed countries look more into the services. Great prof, he inspires me. For those in waterloo, it's Larry Smith.

Nice photos ! This kind of posts is always an inspiration for me.

Chronicle of Tokyo & Danny Choo, what a great pair ^_^
Now, folk who'd affronted/insulted the honorable Danny Choo should now see clearly with their own bare eye, the truth are obvious!
Is that an Idol wallpaper inside your Mac desktop in photo#22220?
Can't wait for the upcoming articles about "Working in a Corporate IT company: Amazon and Microsoft" & "Tokyo 2002 - 2005"
Keep up the great work, Danny!

I am always amaze with your achievements Mr Danny! I hope that someday I too will be as successful as you.

I couldn't even remember what I did in those years and here you are talking about it like it happened yesterday! Darn my short-term memory loss -_-

Right now I have a course where we are taught how to use C++. I don't know why I, a mechanical engineering student, should know about this! Maybe it is what you said Mr Danny, about my market value. Maybe my university is increasing the skills I am able to do to increase my market value O_o

LOL I thought I was watching a movie when I saw the live footage of 911! I thought to myself "Hey! This is a cool movie. I wonder what the title is!"... and then I saw the news logo on the corner of the screen XD

Me and coding? lol not really, I'm more the guy for hardware stuff.
Maybe that's why I'm a Desktop fanboy, Latops are convenient if you are on the move, but beeing not able or allowed to change some parts is something I can't stand^^
I'm not opening it up to exchange parts that often but to clean it sometimes, cause my PC's suck up all the dust in my room (or at least it seems so), maybe thats why my figures aren't that dusty ^_^

Which camera brand? I always had Olympus until now but the next one will not be one, too much noise orz

Nice pics, I wonder how you manage to look always so happy.

ダニーさん、あなたの過去の記事はとても興味深い。
アマゾンとマイクロソフトの記事を楽しみにしています。
英語が難しいので、自動翻訳で読んでいます＾＾；

Used to learn Java in Computer Science, and I learned a bit of HTML by myself when I was in high school. After I got tired of seeing computer codes on the screen, I switched to pure arts. Haven't looked back since, though I'd like to learn more about the intricacies of game development since I'm working closely with the local game industry.

Danny Choo bashing? Really?!? What's their problem?

They're just jealous because you're so awesome. ;-)

Always wanted a vaio but they're always too expensive. Home computer ran windows and my first laptop was a Toshiba (loved it, heavy as a ton of bricks though), which was a gift. When I started part time work, got a Macbook. Now that I have a (temporary) full time job, I got an iMac.

My goal is to one day get a Macbook Pro/Mac Pro. Far in the future though when the ones I have now are obsolete. Macbook's turning two and she's still running very well ^_^

I learned how to use Java, JavaScript, HTML, .aspx(forgot what they call it xD)

9 years in japan. you sure have some nice memories here. i had a clie too. don't remember where it is now. ^^. i was in japan during the olympics in sydney. call me weird but i decided to skip the crowd and spend a month in japan. was living with a friend in osaka back then.

thanks for sharing. you got me reminiscing too.

wow, that is an awesome article. always wonder about what its like for people living in another time/space from my own. i do code, got hired as a junior developer the day i left school ^_^.

they were really, really desperate, so even though i knew nothing about programming, got hired, and had to teach myself from scratch. makes my head buzz when i think about it. and it was only about 18 months ago!

ahaha didn't know so many pple did coding, or is the post too new?

そしても日本人もダニーさんのブログをよみます、びっくりしちゃった。　私の日本語はまだ全部習うだから下手です、お失礼します。

Amazing article. Must be very nostalgic when you were writing this down. My skill sets though are too diverse. One might say I'm more of a jack of all trades and I'm pretty sure I'm not excelling in any of those. But I do know just enough to get the job done. Illustrator, photoshop, recently corel painter. Also got to brush up on my C++ and VB coding. Been using HTML and flash more recently because of the job I'm holding.

I'm looking forward to my Culinary arts certification though. That is something I do plan to excel on. :)

As I am currently studying for my MSc(Information Technology), I know some forms of coding:P (mostly Java, C#(win and asp.net apps), a little php, perl; should take some time to learn python, seems to be a rising trend)
Anyway, very interesting article, can't wait for the Tokyo 2002 - 2005 part!

Would love to learn coding, but have no idea where to start from T^T

Learned HTML at school followed by using Dreamweaver.. they're subjects that are required in my course, which is Computer Studies major in multimedia and the internet. Right now, still using DW8 on my current website cuz I get to see the result(s) when updating the site, etc.
I still have to learn Php and Sql. There's no Php subject in my school when I was still studying and SQL was way too extreme for me that time so as the present. I also have a background on programming like C, Java, etc but wasn't able to use them after I graduated 2 years ago.
This post is good for motivating me to work hard and go to japan and work someday...

Wow great story Danny I wish my memory was good like yours. i can't wait to here from 2002-2005
I want to learn how to code.

how much snow does tokyo get during winter?

I am starting to switch from desktop to laptop. only because I am leaving for the military and will be moving around alot.
only time I open my PC is to clean it cause I get alot of dust in there really sucks.

I was 17 in 2000 and only got my PS2 by 2003. And by them I still didn't knew what I wanted to do, I remember I wanted to work with something related to gaming and started looking for Japanese classes but with no success. Funny how much we change in 8 years.

Danny having occurring dreams of walking across a Zebra Crossing? You must referring to Abbey Road. One the Beatles album holds that name with the entire (young) band walking across a zebra crossing on the cover too. And the album art is iconic.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Road_(album)

wow, i think it's really cool that you're writing about this. gives me insight on how things were back then (also, nice! DOA2 for PS2!). hah i used to think the same about macs back then, now i finally own a Black Macbook. as for Sony Laptops currently, they're actually alright. My friend has a Vaio laptop, and it works well. but yeah, i'll be looking forward to the 02-05!

Great article!

I'm coding in Fortran, PV-WAVE and C# in university. In school I learned basic HTML and JavaScript.

I know a little bit of HTML, VRML, C++, ActionScript... Have to start mastering them if I have the time.

danny the girl with the gun is your wifey?

java developer here. ^_^

haha, i notice a stormtrooper figure in one of those pics x'd

that's is something common to me, mi father was a professional photographer and my mather do that now, so I have TONS of photos, and from time to time I see them, and the nostalgie comes ='( x'DDD
kidding, BTW, I'm the only who thinks, that, in the era of digital cameras, so many tools to have digital portraits, and kinda variety of resources; the real paper photos, and the smell they have in the old album, are UNIQUE?
I mean, it's kinda great the techanology make the things easier, BUT, i think that some of the "magic" of the paper photo are going lost in the process, making all, cold...o something.

wah,dunno too much bout coding,only ableto use frontpage^^;
u seem to hv a very smooth life there,n tokyo sure is a nice place to live,really miss it
mouu.. sarainen,zettai tokyo ni modoru!!^^

This is a nice post

hmm zebra crossing dream...normally i use dreammoods.com to analyze my dream but cant find yours.

nostalgic article you have..make me envy you that you have the courage and determination to try out something that you were not really ready for (referring to the many job changes especially the website manager)

as for coding, i have it as my major in college
so i know (but not particularly expert in) C++, VB, HTML, Java, Javascript, VB.NET, Oracle PL/SQL, MS SQL, Flash (actionscript), a bit of photoshop.
however, now i am working as a s/w support and my job rarely requires coding - thus my coding skills are rotting away. been telling my boss i wan to find a job with more use of my coding skills...
VB.NET remains my favorite (used it to code a couple of web applications mainly in data management.

Coding is my hobby (do not really want to turn it into a career) that I didn't bother about Wordpress or Blogspot and code my own blog, yeah still stuck with Dreamweaver 4.0, my first WYSIWYG software :p. You mentioned "Akihabara in 2001. No moe, no maids, hardly any eroge or figures." What?! Got J-AVs DVD/VHS then? Shocker desu! Hope to see some of these PICS in your upcoming Tokyo revolution report ^^

i started learning html/css then moved to processing and now i'm learning c++

i'm also learning how to clone myself without making babies

Another interesting article of you, uh! ^^
It's really impressive how you managed things, when i look back on my past i feel that i missed a lot of great chances just because back then i wasn't able to see them.

As for coding, started as System Administratoress (is that even a word? lol) and had to learn SQL very suddenly since we switched one of our tools from a BDE database to MySQL.
Then i went on with Mediadesign, focused on webdesign and with the knowledge of SQL in my back i started to learn PHP. CSS and stuff is no coding, but was known by me before SQL and up to now i always did enjoy the changes which came with new versions of CSS, so much design potential in it... i love it.

Those last two pictures at night made my heart race... i love Tokyo at night. ><

An interesting topic, Danny. Can't wait for the next version. :)

^.^ Danny has good memories....I can't even remember alot of stuff that has happened in just 1 year =.= .

I only know of HTML & CSS. I got stuck at Java, PHP and MYSQL. I've learnt some PHP and MYSQL before at UNI but they didn't really teached it properly, in the end it was all self research.

But, I think I should extend my web building skills, last year, I started to try web building without any use of Tables, using DIVS which is hard at first.

Reading your article, memory lane is sure memory lane, I remember some of the things you've mentioned, like the cub board for a PC desk lol

being a graphics designer, i need to know coding. know html, css, actionscript. tried php and mysql but didn't couldn't learn them due to time constraints. gave up on learning asp.net c# due to the same.

Great article, you have a very interesting story.

As for coding, the languages I am most familiar with are: Ruby, Java, C, C++, PHP, and Haskell. Have also had a play with some others such as Prolog, Erlang, ABAP, and Perl, but can't see myself using them much in future - besides Erlang perhaps. Currently trying to learn some of the more advanced functionality offered by Javascript.

wow Danny, a trip down memory lane and seeing how much your life has changed. hats off to you.
I'm not sure if you were able to read it, but I was actually surprised when someone started to call you names on my blog after I posted an entry about your CNN broadcast. however I hope all those Danny bashing in the internets won't get to you. remember they wouldn't try to bash you unless you've achieve something they envy. call it tall poppy syndrome or crab mentality. point is if let it get to you then you're let them cut you down.

regarding the question, back in 2000 I was still in programing, did some work on dreamweaver as well. but most of my coding experience focused more on mainframe computers and making them talk to PCs via C++ on a unix mainframe server and porting it into Visual Basic on client PCs. remember the y2k bug? did a lot of coding work combating that as well. ^^;

Currently learning Java and moving on to C++, but that's about it. Need to preactise more though. XD

Man, everything sure has come a long way since.

The basics of C, HTML, and currently learning SQL.
It's really nice to read this kind of articles, about looking back from where you came from. ^^

I can write code for Python, C, Java, HTML,PHP, Cobalt, Perl, Pascal, and some .net stuff too. I just despise writing code so I won't do it anymore. Though it might be more related to getting carpal tunnel from all the code writing I used to do.

Great blog again, Danny. It's amazing it's only just been a few years ago this decade that Akiba became a haven for all things moe.

And never mind those pricks that accuse you of living off your dad's name. They're nothing but jealous. It's not like Danny's gone around and brag how he's here because of the Jimmy Choo. I seriously don't understand how these jerks can read so much into it and then think they're morally superior to Danny.

Great article!
To me building desktop PCs from scratch and then upgrading it with stuff that I've bought with hard earned cash is > figures and moe. It is like a RPG game - play , get better gear , level up etc. Feels great. :]

Use to do Apple/Apple, IBM Basic, Fortran, Cobol back in school. That was 600 years ago... but in the recent past, xhtml, php, mysql, and php&flash actionscript and some lingo.

These days with my current job I don't do anything but design and direct. Would like to get back into working with markup and scripting though even for my own projects.

I have almost acheived enlightened expert status in C++. I also code in Java and Python because C is mendokuse.

Nice pics Danny! I'm surprised that moe wasn't really seen in Akiba as recently as 2001!
Don't do any coding myself...mainly because I feel I have no real use for it, and as such make no time to learn

Yes, I've been coding since I was 8 years old ^^ haven't stopped ever since, and I knew it was going to be my future job 15 years later. Learned Basic, Visual Basic, C, some C++, HTML and PHP on my own. In school I learned Cobol, Java, SQL. And after school, I learned C# on my own and some other stuffs too. At my work, I do application development in WinDev (VB like language with many built-in tools) and web development in PHP.

Anyway, It's very nice to see old pictures of Tokyo and Akihabara, would love to see more of that. I was 18 in 1999.
I'm still at my first job when I got out of school. We had an internship during our last year, which was at that company, and they asked me back afterwards, so that was easy ;p.

But my end goal is also Japan, but I've giving me about 5 years to accomplish that (4 to go), and up to now, I've got JLPT level 4 and now studying for level 3, which is my next milestone. Haven't really set up a big plan after that yet, I might go for the new inbetween level N3 which comes when the 4-level system becomes a 5-level system. But I need more verbal experience... Anyway, been talking too much ;p

Java, Javascript, Html, Css, PHP and so on :)
You can't believe how much I envy you Danny! One day I'll be there in Japan too!! :P

One of these days after reading one of these articles something's gonna snap and I'm gonna find myself working in Japan... ^_^;

Wow! Amazing article. Can't wait for part 2!! Hmm, On march 4th 2000 I was celebrating my 16th birthday and didn't get any PS2... lol. I did some C++ and Visual Basic back in the school days and ended up making a Final Fantasy like RPG game that lasted like 30 mins or so... no accomplishment there but I was kinda proud of it non-the-less. Like Hottoko-san up there, and many others too I'm sure, I love to buy PC parts and build myself a nice rig. In the past month I ended up building 2 laptops and 4 PCs. (btw, only 1 of the PCs is mine...I'm not rich...) I can't wait to go live and work in Japan. Keep up the good work Danny!! Nippon Banzai!!!

Haha you always have the most brightest smile I've ever seen in every picture! it really stand out between those non smiling coworkers.
Keep smiling!^^

Just now dabbling with coding for a website for class. I'm using Dreamweaver's interface more than direct code at the moment (because I'm still a bit of a noob), but I'm trying to learn to hand-code CSS because it seems to give more flexibility and control when it comes to external sheets.

I LOVE Illustrator. My only gripe with it is the absolutely useless brush tool. The moment Adobe puts a Photoshop-esque airbrush in Illustrator (it could happen!), I'm going to do all my coloring in Illustrator and never going back.

Man, now I feel really young--I was in the 6th grade in 2000. ^^; I remember the whole Y2K nonsense, and thinking even then how stupid it all was. And I remember September 11 too--heard about the Pentagon before anything else on NPR, and in my 13 year old imagination I was actually assuming something far worse than the real attacks. ^^; Seriously, until my math teacher in second hour clarified it all, I thought it was some kind of all-out war or something.

Wow! That definitely looks nostalgic!:D Very nice photos.:D

I code in Action Script 2.0 and 3.0, XHTML, CSS, and starting to implement XML because its awesome. I'm interested in looking into Javascript, php, and maybe, just maybe ASP. I want to get better at web programing.

school is nice but u gotta hate those quiz profs give. It makes no sense!! >.>
know 3 language atm:
Java, Visual Basic, Turing

now learning:
C++ (for U)

In 2000 I hit the job market and started to work. First at EDS as a hardware engineer/asset manager for one of their customer contracts. After a few short interims I joined Atos-Origin as a helpdesk engineer, but that was a dead end so I quit last year and joined Data Flow Consultancy that currently has me assigned to a customer where it's going ok, I'll see what prospects it holds. What's good is that this past year I learned exponentially more than at my previous employer and also discovered my capacities are better than I'd thought.

I dabble a bit with html and css, but I'm no guru, I did make http://www.jediaayla.com & http://www.jediquinlan.com. I need to redo the second one to xhtml and css2 sometime soon, it still has frames... alas I spend little time on them since those Star Wars characters were killed off a while ago and Wikipedia kind of muscled out a lot of character/people devoted sites.

I think this is a great idea Danny, seeing the change of Tokyo from those years. I am surprised you still have so much pictures from that time, I tend to delete pictures every so often or lose them.

Great post Danny, I'll be reading more "in deph" when I have time.
And keep them coming! Because those are the types of posts I want to be writting in my own future.

About those objectives in life... I guess this is one of them. XD

I wonder what people get from bashing others :P what a waste of time lol! And from what was written they don't even know what you went thru to get to where you are lol
Thanks for sharing with us, definitely a trip down memory lane O_O; I don't dare to say I know coding, they tend to spill outta my ear when I read em ^^;;;

Danny, I don't know if anyone has ever told you this before, but you must have balls of steel. The things you have accomplished takes courage, at least much more courage than I have. It is hard to leave a life of security and familiarity to chase a dream and for that I envy you.

You have taken on some huge (calculated) risks and it has obviously paid off. Maybe in a future blog entry you can expand to us on your personal views for risk taking.

At any point on your journey to your ultimate goal, did the doubt ever cross your mind that things might not work out?

What degrees does danny have. Anyone know?

Very nice article! Finally made me register after months of following you ;)

I know xhtml, css, java, python, bash scripting (if thats considered a language) and a tiny bit of php and js. I'm also quite good in photoshop as well, but am unable to do anything in illustrator. If i need something vectored, I just use the pen tool in ps. Never been able to decided whether i like desktops or laptops better because generally I don't need a powerful machine and like portability, but customizing desktops is just too much fun. Also it's sort of difficult to have a 24" screen with a laptop.

:)

Very nice post Danny. Its interesting how things change over the years, specially technology.

I used to know Visual Basic but its been a long time since i've used that. Now i mainly use HTML, PHP, and a little of SQL.

danny,once again you give us the motivation to work harder at whatever we are trying to accomplish, and that our goals are always possible and that its in reach of our hands. I just wanted to say thank you for showing such inspiration, focus, and the desire to follow your passions. Bound to no limits, and following your goals and passions, thats what I call living.

lol anyway, great pictures.

woah and there i was coming online, tired after a day of hitting the books and this comes along!
this is some interesting read. stuff like this just reminds me of the long road i have ahead, which i will half-heartedly embrace i suppose hurhur

oh while i won't proclaim to be a adept programmer, i do have a knack for IT stuff, albeit briefly... although all that IT jargon is making kinda confounding to say the least...

Loved that article Danny, Looking forward to the 2002-2005 one whenever it's done.

(Reading Dreamwaver in this article brought back my memories of college (Only a year or so ago TBH, and how inept I was at using Dreamweaver succesfully XD)

I woul've almost sticked to Canon again for a compact camera but decided to get me a Panasonic Lumix, it might be a bit noisier but the wide angle lens makes up for it (or so I hope - will see when it arrives tomorrow^^)

Ive been introduced to a bunch of different coding languages (shell script, C, html) altough I got a bit rusty on them nowadays since I'm not working with anything code releated in my studies at the moment(when I last really worked with html, frames were still good stuff). But reading up a bit more on Html php and js has been on my "to do when free time list" for quite a while now.

Rare pictures ^_~ and another great and inspiring article. Thank you, Danny! ^_^b

Which brand do you swear by when it comes to compact digital cameras?
Sony
How often do you open up your PC to exchange parts? Are you a desktop or laptop fanboi?
mostly when needed, I stll love my desktop G4 but I will buy the next macbookpro, it's about time.
What was you doing in the year 2000?
living and studying in Guanajuato, preparing an individual photo exhibit. and two collective exhibits a photographic one and the other woog engraving.

No maids or eroge in 1999-2001?! Impossible!

Nice article Danny, shows us that people and places do change... I can't wait for the 2002-2005 article!

Of course I can code, I am a computer scientist/software engineer or will be at least when I graduate next year. Let's see know how to code in C, C#, Java, and a couple assembly languages and next semester I will get to learn scripting and web based languages. Now I wonder, which company in my field can take me to japan?

Not too much of a code monkey... Want to be a network engineer when I get out of high school in another year. I guess that means a bit of coding language being thrown my way in time, but. Who knows. I'm always open for learning.

Woo, young looking Danny, good stuff :)

I don't understand why some people still bash you and more after the CNN broadcast. I hate it when people can't accept others as who they are. It is not hard and yet some people just can't do that and it's sad. Don't let it get you down though, keep up the good work!

Learned a bit HTML, PHP and SQL by myself when I was in junior highschool, then Delphi, SQL (along with those relational theory stuff) during my education as software developer. I've been doing web development since I started working, mostly in PHP.

I'm getting into JavaScript (mostly with Prototype, sometimes wit YUI) lately. JavaScript is very cool. Unless you have to beat the Microsoft's crap of a browser into submission...

Old school :D great info as usual, was a very interesting read. I'm really looking forward to the article about working at Amazon/Microsoft you mentioned!

I really do love these sort of articles love to see how you worked your way up and got to were you are today, gives me some real motivation to keep heading for what I want in life, really looking forward to similar articles in the future :D

Sadly don't know much coding except some XHTML and CSS was getting pretty good at them until my mind wandered onto other things, now mostly concentrating on my Japanese but hopefully will get time in the future to learn some more computer based language.

がんばつて

Learn Japanese currently...hard...
Wow!!!!!
You had quite the life Danny!!!!!!
I want to work in Japan but hearing what the economy is there, I'm thinking about it...
My MySQL sucks but my PHP, my other coding is okay...

People still bash you after the CNN broadcast!? They must have not even watched the report if they thought you got everything from your father.

Back in 2000 I was still in elementary school learning how to multiply and divide. xD

Ha! in 2000-2001 I graduate high school... seems so long ago.
interesting look at how Tokyo has changed

Oh my... such retroness. And that Fuji camera looks alot like one we still have lol.

Nice article, Danny!
It must of been nice to go back to your 1999 pictures and see how you ended up now. :)

"If you have no shame then you can keep doing this until the attendant gets pee'd off at you." ^^; I laughed so very hard at that. I for one am a horrible haggler - simply feel too bad for whoever I'm buying it from.

I used to be a desktop guy, if only 'cause it cost so much less, but every since getting a MacBook Pro for university a year ago I've switched from Desktop to Laptop and Windows to Mac all at once. Can't stand the thought of living without a laptop now.

I have a Panasonic Lumix - wonderful little camera with crazy optical zoom. The only problem is that I screwed it up once and now the battery life is short. Used to swear by Sony but I've pretty much completely weaned off them - prefer MacBook to Vaios, iRiver to Walkmans, Panasonic Lumix to Sony Cybershots and the PS3 was a disappointment.

Learned C++, but haven't used it in over ten years... ^^;

"What was you doing in the year 2000?"

Being trained on nuclear weapons... ^^

I started out working up like you did, building websites and trying to automate boring tasks on my own time.. Learning C at the moment.

Currently learning C++ for procedural coding rather than object programming. I'll be learning the object based programming starting around January.

I'm currently studying in Software Engeneering and got something similar to a computer science diploma. So, hrm, I guess I know how to code in a few language.

Well, I'm into computer since 1983, the best thing I did was to learn Assembly is a lovely language. ;-) Hey Danny, at start your english was just japanese but written in english, pretty odd and funny (heh). Keep in mind is "fanboy", not "fanboi". Btw, I hope to get a job soon (still unemployed here, 3rd world SUCKS!).

me.can.code.sort.of

I only know HTML, and even then only basics.

I think the Zebra crossing symbolizes transition towards your destination. Maybe it was impregnated in your subconscious that you felt you had the right to make this transition, but there was an underlying doubt or fear that it was not going to work out, and your new surroundings were a bit daunting and unfamiliar on a subconscious level so your mind snapped back to a setting in which you felt safe and comfortable? Just a stab in the dark but I think it was your mind's way of helping you cope with the subtleties of the change that you were not aware were affecting you. Getting out of your comfort zone is often scary but it facilitates change and opportunity, which I'm sure you are well aware but some of the younger readers may be able to learn that opportunities don't always fall in your lap and some of the best experiences in life come from trying something that one normally would not.

I have a Panasonic Lumix (8 or 10mp?) and it's pretty fantastic. I wanted to buy a digital SLR but the mrs wanted portability over outstanding photos. Turned out to be a good choice.

lol I have 4 PCs that I change parts every 2 years (excluding this one I'm using) --_-- I think I waste more than you used to Danny (^_^;)

Hmmm code...C#, VB, SQL, PHP(bit), ASP .NET, JS, Java, C++, Groovy, Grails, AS
Current Flex ^^;

Did some C++ once...got lost after they introduced the whole void thing...did ok for the class though...I'd try to pick it up again after a while...

Congratulations on all the progress you've made Danny!

I suck at graphics design >_< it's one of my frustrations in life. lol. But what I lack in graphics design I make up for in coding and analysis. I love to code mainly because I like to fiddle around with the inner workings of a programming language and try what it can and it can't do. hahah

Didn't know you were married before you moved to Japan. how old were you when you got married? :D

Great article, very interesting.
For home use I prefer Desktops mainly because I can tinker them at will and I can use a nice big keyboard and monitor. On the road I can imagine it would be nice to have something to take with you and whatnot but if I had to choose I would rather have a nice comfy desktop.

I have take a look at a lot of articles that you have cause I am interested in your "quite inspiring" personal story. I totally agree with you that everybody should go for what they want. Although I am exposed to a totally different world with you, I have quite a similar experience. From my childhood, I have also read manga like Fist of the North Star, Chinmi "Kungfu Boy", Astro Boy, Patlabor. These things are side hobby for me. Your figure articles made me bought a lot them recently. I prefer Hobby Link Japan as their service is good and most stuffs shown in your articles (except the old one) is available there. The owner seems to be an American :)

Been to Japan recently (Tokyo and Kyoto). Japan is surely an interesting place even though most people don't speak English, especially all professor and researchers. The facility in there seems to be very advanced though as their research funding is huge. Anyway, all the best for your life in there.

I prefer desktops as well mainly because of customisability and a big screen, though I do feel like getting a laptop for when I'm out and about. Often feel like I can't do much sometimes when I go out and don't have a comp with me or I have to use crappy public computers. I've done a bit of VB at school and I have to say coding is not my thing. I get the job done but it sucks up all my time and I feel grumpy afterwards.

lol @ people online bashing Danny in the past. If that happened now I would riot!

Thanks for the backstory...it really gives me motivation. Up until this year when decided to focus on Japanese, I was working on Photoshop, PHP, and MySQL. It's just been a hobby (I have a BA too) but I'm still thinking more and more about it.

i just use basic forms of html that wordpress allows to update my blog, which is not much, so I chose no lol. I went through C, C++, and Java programming before, but I've long forgotten everything.

So you didn't learn any coding at all until you started to self study on the side? That's amazing the content you were able to learn considering where/what you're doing now and also having read of where you've been! I'm not one to really get what's going on until somebody explains it to me or shows it to me visually (I find myself to be mostly a visual learner lol), but maybe I should try self studying stuff myself sometime. Who knows maybe I'll actually absorb and learn a few things lol.

Another inspiring and interesting post!
It's always nice to read about your achievements as it gives the rest of us hope and knowing that you're a success only makes us happier. I can't see why people choose to mock your hard work, they're probably just jealous.
I'm able to code in HTML and CSS but, it’s mostly self-taught.. I wish to learn more but, not sure where to head from here (wouldn't mind making a custom engine/programme). In 2000, I was in Primary School, gaming was my main interest at the time (still is).
I like Korean movies; they're so different from the others...

Wow great photos!

In 2000 I was coding ASP in London at the height of the dotcom boom. I was earning more than my age in UK pounds. Our secretary was trying to stop sneaky recruitment consultants trying to get our phone numbers so they could offer us all jobs. Our CEO took the whole company to Vienna for a weekend. Life was good!

One year later I and my friends were all out of work, and the World Trade Center was attacked.

Life is full of unexpected events. Enjoy the good times while they last!

Programming Languages, etc:
Java, Python, PHP, HTML + CSS, C, C++, SQL/mySQL
...but don't ask me to do anything in C. Haha!

Really great & interesting article Danny ! Love those 1999 / 2000 japan pics, its changed a lil bit on the street.

Back in 1999 I was in Kyoto teaching English to small groups of 6 year olds, my first experience of Japan!

Tokyo is amazing too , lived there 2004 - 05, again in 2006 (Aug - Dec). Tokyo is so large and varied there could be a "Dannychoo" site for many of the fan-scene (music , clothes etc).

Danny, you havr the best site cover figures & anime on line . Congrats.

Your article is interesting to read. It clearly shows how you've changed over the years. =)

Just recently begun attending a course in Applied Computer science, and so far, i'm learning programming in Java, introduction to computers & web-design, while at the same time, finishing a degree in Pedagogy. After that, its back on the school bench with Japanese 101. X'D

I have a lot freedom to choose what subjects to add in my bachelors degree, so thats why i'm finishing one and adding another, because i feel that computer science & pedagogy complement eachother.

Will have to think about pursuing a masters degree soon.

Btw, coding is interesting. problem is, what computer language is great master ? I have a lot of things that i want to code, and i want to do it with less lines, but with great stability, security & ease of maintenance..

Question to Mr.Choo: i wonder if your blog is written with Ruby on Rails (or some other web -programming language such as XHTML) ? I've just been in an IT company seminar discussing Web 2.0 development, and it discussed use of Open source development, Ruby on Rails & other stuff... I want to ask because im curious & it might help me figure out what to develop (main interest is browser games, coz i'm a PC gaming addict ^^; ).

Oops, I think I pick the wrong one, HTML isn't coding right? =P

learnt HTML on my own a couple of years ago, and i'm making my first PHP steps now at school.

I have to say i have a head start in this area, as i'm familiar with SQL (i used to manage a game server that required a database).

learnt pascal and VBasic at school in the last 3 years, learing C++ now.

I've been looking to learn C++ because it's most used for video games. I love the photos. It makes me regret not seeing Japan yet; it will probably be a vacation too short to truely enjoy.

a really bolehland dude with no frills back them ^ ^!

learning coding at school... currently a complete nub...

I know some programming languages, but none too deep.
Also, I'm running from them since I'm switching my professional area right now.

Loved the fact that you're always smiling on pics Danny... that pic with co-workers where only you're smiling = priceless. XD

Great career! Pay no attention to jealous people, they are everywhere.
I still don't have sucessful professional stories to tell, but for some of the few stuff I know how to do well, I already received some critics very close to those you quoted.

I usually ignore (or when in a bad mood, give replies on the same level)... consider those like just another obstacle to reach my goals.

Of course we always have to hear constructive criticism... but saying stuff like "you got your work only because of your dad", or "rich spoiled brat that got lucky" and stuff like that... pure jealousy. I kinda pitty people who says stuff like that.

I taught myself a couple of different types of coding languages but I learn more every day.
The moments that i'm coding these days are mostly while designing / editing games and working with Dreamweaver at school.
(I don't hate coding,i just like sketching/working out the art more.)
Also nice to see how you have changed over the years,i am looking forward to 2002 - 2005.

is like my life but in japan ^^

greetings for you danny
a fun from far away ...Chile

Saludos loco cuidate ^^

Incredible,I salute to you Danny!!!Ur incredible,for you to be successful in life is a great blessing!!!BDW,if those days u didn't even have a single figure or eroge,when did you started collecting figures and eroges?

I love posts like this Danny. It is really interesting to see how everything went for you over there in Japan.

>>If you buy a load of stuff in one go, you get a discount - and when the shop attendant says "OK, I can do this price for you", they never say the price verbally and show you the calculator instead.

They do this at Hen Da Ne, too.

Also, re: the CNN stuff: I think we can agree it's just jealous people finding an excuse for them being failures and/or lazy. I mean, lots of guys want to be you. That's a fact. They know it requires a lot of work, but they just never do it because they're lazy. Now that they found out this one little thing about you they're like OH, THAT'S HOW HE DID IT. NOW I HAVE AN EXCUSE FOR AMOUNTING TO NOTHING. Those types of people are sad and bitter. I don't have to tell you this, but just ignore those guys. I can respect a man who's done hard work to get good things, and as such I can respect you Danny. Also, it seems your site doesn't enjoy me dropping the f-bomb. Oh well. I've edited my comment accordingly.

Asp.NET is getting very popular. I wonder how PHP will respond

Comment QA.

You have so much black clothing, Danny! And I thought A.I. was good.

Your story always inspires me, Danny!! Thanks!

Yes, truly inspiring. I will go to japan to chase my dreams someday. What I'm saying, I'm doing it from now... I'm trying hard to be able to go to japan in order to chase my dream there. I'm not a stalker ^^; but the more I read your personal posts the more I want to know as I get motivated when reading them.

The first time I coded was at the age of 9. It was a commercial language -based in C- for a "make your own videogame" software in DOS. I learned most of my programming skills with that simplistic and weak language, I don't remember even its syntax, but it taught me how to think and how computers works.
At 11 I started with my first HTML pages, with Notepad and Frontpage. At 15 I did some introduction to C and Pascal, and some software specific -again, based in C- languages. I spent 2 years coding scripts for eAthena, an emulator for a MMORPG.

Now I only code PHP and MySQL. I do some freelance works once in a while.

Given up on studying codes. There were too many and my mind just couldn't process all. >.<" Kind of regret never really did worked hard on it. But I guess it's just not my cup of tea isn't it? ^.^;;

great photos and story

Wow.. talk about a time trip. It's funny seeing how technology was back then and comparing it to what we have today. I especially remember having to work with those 1999-era Macs as a student aide in middle school and freaking out each it crashed or was lagging. Colorful, yes... not very practical.. -___-. Love your little makeshift office with the cupboard... very inventive.. ^___^

In Elementary, pues!

Haha, when I was choosing courses for grade 10 back when I was in grade 9, I chose Computer Science cause I thought you learn HTML... how wrong was I.
However if it wasn't for that I would've never realized how fun Computer Science is and I wouldn't be deciding to pursue Computer science in university xD.

Right now... I learned Visual Basic, Turing (both from school) and really basic HTML and CSS (self taught >_>)

Danny,
Marvelous!
What a recap.
Can't wait for 2002-05.
I think I am falling in love with you.
Loves.
Hashmi

Danny,
Marvelous!
What a recap.
Can't wait for 2002-05.
I think I am falling in love with you.
Loves.
Hashmi