Airion said...

Airion at 10:10 AM JST - 26th September

I did WWOOF for two summers while I was a college student. I wanted to spend a few productive months in Japan but didn't have the money to spend all that time traveling. So free food and accommodation in a semi-homestay setting was a good deal for me. Conditions were…

Posted in Increasing number of people staying in farm houses under WWOOF system at 10:10 AM JST - 26th September
Airion at 10:09 AM JST - 28th August

With all the stereotypes of foreigners floating around in Japan (see McDonald's Mr. James), My Darling is a Foreigner is definitely a good thing. The foreigner is smart and speaks Japanese. Much of the manga covers the struggles the author faces in dealing with assumptions about their relationship, such as…

Posted in Mao Inoue and Jonathan Sherr to star in 'My Darling is a Foreigner' at 10:09 AM JST - 28th August
Airion at 05:19 PM JST - 21st August

sf2k: The SNORKEL genes as described in the article come from a certain strain of rice, not from some other species. The article specifically says that it comes from deep-water rice. The problem is that deep-water rice doesn't produce much, so scientists are taking this gene from one strain of…

Posted in Scientists develop high-yield deep water rice at 05:19 PM JST - 21st August
Airion at 09:13 AM JST - 21st August

It's not clear in the article how the genes were "introduced" to the rice. It's probably just selective breeding, but possibly a more hi-tech method. Regardless, genetic modification of plants has been going on since the dawn of civilization. Almost all the foods we eat are radically modified from their…

Posted in Scientists develop high-yield deep water rice at 09:13 AM JST - 21st August
Airion at 01:59 PM JST - 19th August

gogogo: Interesting. Do you know if those were in fact 0.00% beers? Even if it were just below 0.005%, five of them would only equal the equivalent of a 0.025% beer. There's other "non-alcoholic" beers with 0.5% alcohol. 5 of those would equal about half a beer, which is significant.

Posted in Suntory to enter alcohol-free beer market in September at 01:59 PM JST - 19th August
Airion at 01:26 PM JST - 19th August

True enough 0.00% alcohol could contain as much as 0.0049% alcohol. But if I'm not mistaken, Japan's drunk driving laws are not literally set at 0% BAC. Practically speaking it's zero tolerance for drinking, but it's not so strict as to prevent you from drinking a 0.0049% beer such as…

Posted in Suntory to enter alcohol-free beer market in September at 01:26 PM JST - 19th August
Airion at 11:31 AM JST - 19th August

What makes the joke funny (assuming it is, not getting into whether it's quality comedy or not)? When people laugh at the scene, what are they laughing about? I think what's funny is the ridiculousness of the character's racism. People aren't laughing at the Asian-American character, they're laughing at the…

Posted in Japanese-American group outraged by film at 11:31 AM JST - 19th August
Airion at 11:08 AM JST - 19th August

Of course alcohol-free beer tastes terrible if you're comparing it to real beer, but compare it to water, and the proposition sounds a bit better. Popular brands in Japan like Holsten and Kirin Free are pretty good if you're just looking for a soft drink. There's some other more obscure…

Posted in Suntory to enter alcohol-free beer market in September at 11:08 AM JST - 19th August
Airion at 08:33 AM JST - 19th August

sk4ek, I think the answer is they're all unreasonable. The real price for these things should be given upfront.

Posted in ANA to reinstate international passenger fuel surcharge at 08:33 AM JST - 19th August
Airion at 11:22 AM JST - 18th August

I'm happy being covered under the public option in Japan. I hope uninsured Americans will have a similar option.

Posted in Liberals complain over Obama health care concession at 11:22 AM JST - 18th August