Wednesday February 15, 2012

JohnBecker's past comments

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    JohnBecker

    The Xbox and Playstation 3 are well suited to hardcore gamers. For everyone else, there's the Wii. Last time I checked, there are many, many more "everyone elses" than hardcore gamers.

    Sony and Microsoft have finally realized that they stand to gain a lot if they can come up with good games that can take advantage of a simpler controller. While they're working on that, I expect that Nintendo is coming up with the next innovation that will appeal to the masses.

    Posted in: Sony delays release of motion controller to fall

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    JohnBecker

    It's a shame they didn't do one in pink crystals. For sure they would have been able to sell it to Paris Hilton - to match her phone.

    Posted in: Vroom vroom

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    JohnBecker

    Love hotels prevent pregnancy? Who knew???

    Posted in: It's related to one of humans' most basic desires, so it is recession-resistant.

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    JohnBecker

    We Americans have, in general, become very sensitive about overt racial stereotyping over the past 40 or 50 years. This is not to say that the United States doesn't have a problem with racism; far from it.

    If this had been an ad by an Australian company, I imagine the outcry would have been much less. But for an American company to sanction this sort of ad anywhere in the world was terribly ill advised.

    Posted in: KFC pulls Australian ad over U.S. racism complaints

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    JohnBecker

    Step 1: place a decent quality TV camera in a cage in an interesting place (Harajuku, Shibuya Station's Hachiko exit, etc.) and put a sign next to it: "Do something interesting and be on TV tonight!"

    Step 2: At 6:00 PM, edit the best into an hour show with no host - just a graphic and voiceover at the beginning, at breaks, and at the end.

    Step 3: Air at 8:00 PM, and at the very least you'll get everyone who did something in front of the camera. Do a little media blitz about "Japan's version of reality TV" to stir up some curiosity.

    This show would cost almost nothing to produce. Just change the camera location once or twice a year and ask the viewing public, "Are the otaku in Akiba as crazy as the kids in Harajuku?"

    Costs almost nothing to produce, just needs a little bit of a marketing kick-start. Like printing money.

    Posted in: Cost-cutting hits TV stations

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    JohnBecker

    Unless your diet consists of gyudon and little else, 100 yen one way or the other really doesn't matter. If I like Yoshinoya more than I like Sukiya, I think I can spring for an extra 100 yen without feeling the pinch, even in the worst of times.

    Posted in: Yoshinoya's dilemma: Whether to lower prices or not

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    JohnBecker

    Luxury apartment complex developer: "We need an image character! Find me a 33 year old jobless, drunk, heart-throb actor who has embarrassingly bad taste!"

    Posted in: Odagiri signs on to promote Brillia Ariake Sky Tower

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    JohnBecker

    @LoveUSA: aka-choo-choo? Gesundheit!

    Article Unavailable

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    JohnBecker

    @LostinNagoya: 11,000 km? You mean in Earth orbit? Airliners generally like to fly at about 11,000 meters, not kilometers.

    Ask any test pilot (I have) and he'll tell you he has the best job in the world. It's not as dangerous as it used to be - computer modeling and stress studies have taken a lot of the uncertainty out of aircraft design.

    Lastly - Airbus and Boeing have nothing to do with aircraft engines, other than bolting them onto their planes. The jet engines used by the airlines are designed and manufactured by General Electric, Rolls-Royce and Pratt & Whitney. The airlines choose which engines they want installed on the planes they order. (Most airframes allow for several engine choices.)

    Posted in: Boeing's 787 jetliner makes first test flight

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    JohnBecker

    This is exciting stuff. I'm looking forward to some big events next year.

    Posted in: Atom smasher ramps up collisions before year-end

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    JohnBecker

    I'm really glad that JT ran this essay, because JT is my primary source for information on atheism at Christmastime in the U.S.

    Blue Tiger: Don't confuse Kwanzaa with religion. It was made up in 1966 so that black Americans would have a winter solstice holiday for themselves. It's used mostly to celebrate African heritage.

    Posted in: Atheists at Christmas: Eat, drink and be wary

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    JohnBecker

    What would I recommend? A visit to Nikko (preferably in November). A lap around the entire Imperial Palace grounds (preferably during sakura season). A trip anywhere on the shinkansen, perhaps to get to Hakone (I know, Odawara Station and then a train and a bus...) or Himeji. A pilgrimage to Hiroshima or Nagasaki. A visit to Matsumoto to check out the castle, the Japan Ukiyo-e Museum and the Alps. A trip to Sakai City to see the burial mounds (if and ONLY if Sakai City opens up the observation tower in the city park! The gardens there almost make up for it).

    A stop in Osaka to check out Dotonbori one evening. A ride up to the 150m level of Tokyo Tower just before twilight. (Or a climb up the Sky Tree?) A stroll into Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi at opening time. A day spent wandering aimlessly in Yanaka or Asakusa. An afternoon at Ryogoku Kokugikan to see what sumo is all about. A walk around Ginza (I'm partial to the Ando shippo-yaki and Watanabe hanga shops). A Giants game at Tokyo Dome (or, possibly better still, a trip to Koshien for a Tigers game). A boat trip from Asakusa to Odaiba. A spring morning at Koishikawa Korakuen. And I could keep going and going...

    Posted in: If you were going to recommend something about Japan to your friends and family back home to get them to visit here, what would it be?

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    JohnBecker

    Doesn't look photoshopped. Shooting in low light with a wide open aperture, the man in the foreground is in focus and things behind him get progressively more out of focus. There's just a little bit of detail in the man's form - it appears that he's wearing a white shirt and a necktie. The ambient light would certainly have been enough to provide that level of detail. Good picture. (I'm being geeky, but it would be great to know the exposure details.)

    On another note, it's nice to see that they didn't do this with nothing but blue lights.

    Sarge - it's "kaleidoscope".

    Article Unavailable

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    JohnBecker

    a causeway that bisects the small spring fed lake in half.

    Wait - you mean the causeway doesn't bisect the lake in thirds?

    Snarky comments aside, this sounds like a nice place.

    Posted in: The royal 'crib' at Shikinaen

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    JohnBecker

    "For the man of mystery..."

    Yeah, the man who prefers the current time to be a mystery. Along with the reason why anyone would pay 21,000 yen for gimmicky junk like this.

    Posted in: Surrender to the Dark Side

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    JohnBecker

    Looks like it's time for me to chime in, as I must do every couple of months.

    I personally don't care if Japan puts more English in the supermarkets. That's not a concern for a tourist.

    I don't read Japanese, or speak more than a few phrases. But I've never had a problem when I visit. I've found the people friendly and more than helpful.

    The people at the hotels have been fine with welcoming a foreigner. I've never paid more than $80 per night for a room in a business hotel in Tokyo, Nagoya, Himeji or Hiroshima.

    I've never had a problem with spending 600 or 700 yen for udon or soba or ramen, they're fine with me. Dinners at an izakaya are fine too, and not ridiculously expensive.

    Transportation isn't cheap, but it's easy and efficient. (Anyone who plans to ride the trains and doesn't get a Japan Rail Pass is nuts.) I've had English language timetables and route maps and have never had a problem getting where I'm going on my own.

    I've done my homework too - I've bookmarked information on everything I might possibly go to see and can call up that information on my laptop before setting out. That way I know how to get there and what to expect.

    As with traveling anywhere, the real secret is to be respectful, understand the customs, don't assume that everyone is thrilled that you've come to visit, and do your homework beforehand.

    I'll happily come back to visit when the exchange rate is more favorable.

    Posted in: Visit Japan Campaign launched

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    JohnBecker

    If the yen slides to 200 to the dollar, I'll fly over and eat wagyu every night!

    Posted in: Shares jump on weakening yen

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    JohnBecker

    Looks like a fitting hideout for Alex and his droogs.

    Article Unavailable

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    JohnBecker

    I spent a nice afternoon in Hakone a few years ago. Walked a little bit of the Tokaido, pedaled myself ragged in one of those stupid swan boats, had a chuckle at the pirate ship, ate bad soba at a little noodle joint right in tourist central under the huge fake torii, checked out the checkpoint museum, and stood at the south end of ashi-no-ko marveling at the view of Mt. Fuji. That was a pretty good day. :-)

    I can still check in on Fuji-san, from exactly the same viewpoint I had back then: http://www.hakone.or.jp/english/index.html Check out the Lake Ashi weather cam.

    Sarge: why avoid the Picasso House?

    Posted in: A visit to Hakone Open Air Museum

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    JohnBecker

    I've been lucky enough to visit Himeji and Matsumoto. After that, visiting a place like Nagoya or Osaka is best thought of as a trip to a castle-shaped museum.

    Posted in: Kiyosu castle faithfully reconstructed

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