Taro's Blog

“Test one, two, three” was a phrase from the “Tango: Maureen” in the musical “Rent” 1999. I loved the musical. Great songs. Great characters. Great story. I also learned that 1 year was 525,600 minutes. They made it a movie in 2005.

On Friday, July 25, 2025, I had an intriguing conversation with 2 lovely gentlemen I just met at a hotel lobby in Shibuya, Tokyo. We talked about growing business in Japan and the landscape of database management systems. “Data”, what a lovely word!

Americans say “dah-ta”, Brits say “day-ta” (like “You Say Tomato, I say Tomato”). In Japan, we say データ (“day-ta”). However, a fan of the TV series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1987-94) would say it “day-ta” even she or he is an American, thanks to Sir Patrick Stewart, who played Captain Jean-Luc Picard. I remember no Tabloids (Tableau employees) said “dah-ta”. My guess was it’s because Christian Chabot said “day-ta” (because he was probably a Trekkie).

The last name of one of the gentlemen I met was Kirch. I asked him how to pronounce. He replied to me “/kɜːrk/” as in Captain James T. Kirk of the original TV series “Star Trek” (1966-69) portrayed by William Shatner.

By the way, I pronounce SQL as “sequel” in English, to show off that I am not an amateur, but in Japanese, I say it エス・キュー・エル (S.Q.L.); otherwise, people wouldn’t understand what I was talking about.

Last but not least, I like the band Linkin Park, which came back in 2024. A new vocalist, Emily Armstrong, is a great singer and screamer! Again, I say “Lincoln Park” in English to show off that I am not a bandwagon fan. However, in Japanese, I say 「リンキン・パーク」; otherwise, people wouldn’t understand me.