DoctorTofu said...

DoctorTofu at 11:08 AM JST - 18th July

“It’s just that… I don’t know, she was always so quiet…”

Only tangentially related to this article, but have you noticed how almost always it's the quiet types that cause trouble in the end? How many times do you hear "Oh, he/she was such an extrovert, always loud and…

Posted in Spurned women wreak vengeance at 11:08 AM JST - 18th July
DoctorTofu at 11:02 AM JST - 18th July

Zen Builder - good point. The ridiculous trend of control-freakism (yeah, I just made that up) is spreading all over the world. We seem to have more and more rules every time I look. I'm not sure about other countries (hell, even my own - it's been a while since…

Posted in Osaka postman fights to keep mustache at 11:02 AM JST - 18th July
DoctorTofu at 10:55 AM JST - 18th July

Mark - that's exactly the point though. Was there a link between Akihabara stabbing and letting cars in there during the weekends? Was there a link between the Hokkaido summit and sealing trashcans and coin lockers in Tokyo? These measures are not meant to be effective, they are meant to…

Posted in Banks to ask customers not to use cell phones at ATMs due to fraud at 10:55 AM JST - 18th July
DoctorTofu at 10:09 AM JST - 18th July

Sure, companies can change the rules and their employees have a choice to conform or get the hell out, but where do we draw a line between reasonable rules and insane ones? What if a company changed the rules to say that all employees have to dye their eyebrows purple?…

Posted in Osaka postman fights to keep mustache at 10:09 AM JST - 18th July
DoctorTofu at 09:58 AM JST - 18th July

All right, time for a rant. You have been warned.

What all these "helpful" institutions, like the Japanese Bankers Association, various governments and companies have to realize is that some people are morons. Actually, a lot of people are morons. And they should pay for it. Fool-proofing stuff is OK,…

Posted in Banks to ask customers not to use cell phones at ATMs due to fraud at 09:58 AM JST - 18th July
DoctorTofu at 08:17 AM JST - 18th July

How about instead of instructions NOT to use your cellphone, they post instructions to DO use your brain and critical thinking facilities sleeping dormant therein - not only in the vicinity of ATMs, but also in your daily life? Who wants to bet me, that the new wave of "ore!,…

Posted in Banks to ask customers not to use cell phones at ATMs due to fraud at 08:17 AM JST - 18th July
DoctorTofu at 05:01 PM JST - 16th July

Back to the topic - for some reason, it's really great to hear that a Chinese person could (and did) get Akutagawa's prize. This means that regardless of the tensions between the two countries, at least in this contest politics does not affect the judgment. A very, very good thing,…

Posted in Chinese novelist Yang wins prestigious Japanese literature prize at 05:01 PM JST - 16th July
DoctorTofu at 07:13 AM JST - 15th July

God damn, can someone get some dynamite and friggin blow the stupid pieces of rock to pieces? This whole dispute is really getting ridiculous. No, wait, correction there: it got utterly ridiculous a long while ago. Both countries are acting like these worthless rocks are made from platinum, studded with…

Posted in Japan describes Takeshima as its territory in education document at 07:13 AM JST - 15th July
DoctorTofu at 09:42 AM JST - 14th July

I'm more of a cold oolong tea fan, but mugi-cha works too. This, and of course plain water - in Tochigi even tap water tastes good enough - no need to buy bottled water.

Posted in What drink do you recommend to help cope with hot, humid days? at 09:42 AM JST - 14th July
DoctorTofu at 07:26 AM JST - 14th July

Too bad there's no "I don't really care" option to vote for...

Posted in Should world leaders attend the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony? at 07:26 AM JST - 14th July