JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
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- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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glycol57
The computer power required to perform a few useful functions is also more than enough to perform dozens of questionably-useful functions ... and engineers hate to waste "potential". Unfortunately the user interface becomes complicated and it becomes more and more difficult to operate the phone for ANY purpose.
There's a US company that sells a phone called the "JitterBug". The target audience is mostly older people who didn't grow up with high-tech. It's a cell phone ... and pretty much JUST a cell phone. No internet, no media, I don't even think it can take a picture. Lots of them are sold ... and not JUST to older people.
This suggests that perhaps a three-tier plan should be adopted by industry ... produce a 'minimal' phone like the Jitterbug, a 'utility' phone with photo and e-mail added, and an 'everything' phone with whatever the engineers and programmers can fit in there. Consumers can then pick the one that best fits their needs.
An alternative of sorts ... now feasable ... is a voice-control phone with NO 'menus' or anything like that. If you want a straight cellphone, press 'ON' and say "cell phone". If you need e-mail or texting or photos or streaming media or whatever, just SAY it and the phone does its best to become exactly what you need at the moment.
Posted in: Do you think smartphones are becoming too complicated with too many functions?
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glycol57
Japan has a problem. Photoelectrics are expensive and Japan is a little too far north to make best use of them.
Hydroelectric may not be practical either in an earthquake-prone nation because dams and other water containment structures could fail in a sudden and spectacular way.
Wind ... well ... the variability of the power produced limits HOW it can be used, plus those huge windmills are expensive.
Geothermal hasn't lived up to hopes either for a number of technical reasons.
In theory, ocean currents and tides can produce a lot of power, but it requires an impractical amount of hardware to accomplish on any useful scale - and the laws of thermodynamics come into play limiting how much power you can extract from slow-moving water.
Which doesn't leave Japan with many options in the short or medium term. Coal/gas/nuclear .... choose your devil and learn to co-exist with it.
Posted in: Which form of renewable energy do you think is the best alternative to nuclear energy?
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glycol57
Palin is not "presidential material". However she does appeal to a certain faction of her party - which makes her valuable. She will deliver both campaign money and votes for whomever the Republicans run next year.
It also seems the party uses Palin as a propaganda device to deliver groin-kicks to Obama and the Democrats while the mainline GOP can pretend to be above it all. All in all, politics as usual.
Posted in: Palin kick-starts bus tour on back of motorcycle
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glycol57
These are people of high ambition and drive - 'alphas' - they want it all.
Posted in: Why do famous men with power and influence (Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, Bill Clinton, for example) risk everything with their sexual behavior?
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glycol57
"Safe" isn't all there is to it. There is also a perception that Japan is in a state of crisis and that foreigners would just be "in the way" and unwanted.
Posted in: Why do tourists continue to stay away from Japan, despite the fact that there are many places of interest far away from the crisis-affected areas? What should Japanese tourism officials do to promote Japan as a safe destination?
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glycol57
One function of a CEO is to become the official scapegoat for the company so its other executuves, investors and stockholders can escape blame for decisions they were also a part of. This is one reason CEO's are paid so much.
This sort of thing is a form of deception. It leads the public into believing everything is fixed and OK again when actually you still have 99 percent of the same bad decision-makers working at the company. More bad desisions will result.
Posted in: When a company is at the center of a crisis (TEPCO or BP, for example), should that company's top executive resign to take responsibility?
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glycol57
Depp has hit upon a good comic character, but you can wear out ANYTHING after awhile. Too many sequels !
I suppose it pays the rent however.
At least Depp keeps himself busy in an impressively large variety of roles - not one of those 'one note' actors. I'd say he's the "most versatile" actor out there right now and he isn't afraid of "weird stuff" or films that might not earn a lot of money.
Posted in: Depp steers 'Pirates' into critical seas of Cannes
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glycol57
This was surely a set up. He was in somebodys way ... between them and billions or trillions of dollars. This is just too much like what they did to Julian Assange to take seriously. He also was 'inconvenient' to a lot of powerful people.
Posted in: IMF chief under suicide watch at NYC jail
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glycol57
Doesn't there seem to be an escalation in stabbings in Japan over the past few years ? Is this the new way to 'solve' all your frustrations and problems ?
Maybe it's the dismal economic climate. Stressful times tend to push people to extremes more easily. They just get burnt out and don't have the patience or emotional reserve needed for more civilized resolutions.
Posted in: Man stabs female volunteer worker at Ishinomaki Red Cross hospital
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glycol57
The Red Cross does good ... but it takes a pretty big "administrative costs" bite out of your donated money. It's also a bit slow to respond sometimes.
In the USA, probably the best group to give to for a disaster is the Salvation Army. They're usually on the spot even before the wind stops blowing or ground quits shaking and they take almost nothing for 'administrative costs'. As a quasi-religious group, they're kind of "on a mission from god" ... which seems to keep them honest and earnest.
For disasters elsewhere, the Red Cross is probably the better choice - and someone mentioned 'Doctors Without Borders', which is a good one, although their scope of services is more limited.
Some mention PHYSICAL help in a disaster. This isn't necessarily a good idea. There's usually no shortage of willing helpers in a disaster area ... but what those who have been affected need most is STUFF ... food, clean water, housing, some medical services ... and those cost MONEY. Going hundreds or thousands of miles to "help", you are more likely to just get in the way ... doubly so if you don't speak the local language well. 200 pounds of rice will be more useful on the scene than 200 pounds of YOU.
Posted in: Do you think giving money to organizations like the Red Cross, Oxfam, UNICEF, etc, is the best way to make charitable donations when there are natural disasters?
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glycol57
Airlines are always on the edge of bankruptcy - and many have failed over the past 20 years. Clearly they are NOT "price gouging" ... in fact they're barely getting by.
I think many people remember the "boom" of the 1950s and 60s as the jet age kicked in. THEN airlines were making lots of money. NOW however ....
So yea, like it or not, when a basic like fuel becomes noticibly more expensive they HAVE to add something to the ticket price. Some complain that they're slow to reduce prices afterwards, but remember that they're always behind the curve here ... they don't charge more until fuel prices have been high for awhile, ergo they have to make that up by letting higher prices linger for awhile too.
If you're really worried about where your money is going, check your mobile phone bills ... and where your government is spending your taxes ........
Posted in: Airlines say they have no choice but to pass the increase in oil prices on to passengers in the form of a higher fuel tax? Do you agree?
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glycol57
|| The upshot of this (and countless other incidents) is that the convenient "cashless society" has become a dangerous pipe-dream.
|Nah. It just needs better security, that's all. Every failure is a learning experience.
"Better security" ? If it existed, and was user-friendly enough for people to tolerate, it would already be in use.
And then someone would find a way around it ... a lot quicker than you'd think.
Time to seriously re-think e-commerce, billions and trillions of (pick a currency) are at clear risk. The large interests can afford insurance and/or expensive measures to protect themselves and recover losses ... but you and I cannot. The "little guy" will always lose this game.
Posted in: Sony says 25 million more accounts hacked
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glycol57
Photographs "prove" nothing nowadays. The CIA surely has software MUCH better than PhotoShop - and could generate any photographic "proof" it wants on demand. George Washington rode a dinosaur ? Sure. A photo SO good that nobody could ever find a flaw could be created overnight.
Video is more difficult to fake because of the sheer volume of material and changing 3-D relationships among other things but that can be faked too. Just might take a little longer.
As a rule of thumb, if you don't see the photo within one hour of an event, or a video within a day, don't be 100% convinced that pictures tell no lies.
So then what's the POINT of a dead bin-Laden photo except "morbid interest" ? They say he was killed at that place, at that time, in that way - and that's the official truth from now on whether it's true or not.
Posted in: Should the U.S. release photos or video footage of Osama bin Laden's body?
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glycol57
The upshot of this (and countless other incidents) is that the convenient "cashless society" has become a dangerous pipe-dream. Security is nearly nil, and ID thieves can clean you out, create new accounts and clean THEM out, and leave YOU stuck with all the bills far far TOO easily nowadays. Neither banks or governments can, or seem to want to, do anything about it.
Posted in: Sony says 25 million more accounts hacked
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glycol57
If Twitter ever had any use, that has largely disappeared due to the sheer volume of trivial innanities posted. I have literally seen women wandering through a supermarket, twittering on practically every step they make as if someone, somewhere, would think it's important.
Posted in: Do you use Twitter?
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glycol57
Radio-iodine is one of the expected products of a damaged nuclear reactor ... and it will go wherever the wind goes.
Knowing an iodine issue was very likely, the government and industry should both have immediately acted to move huge amounts of bottled water into the Tokyo area, buying out the whole south of Japan if necessary.
Water PURIFICATION units - the big ones, not home devices - should have been brought in by the SDF as well so people could bring their own containers and have them filled as a longer-term solution. If Japan didn't have enough such purification units, several friendly nations could have flown them in on very short notice.
It sounds as if the government dropped the ball here. However it must be noted that there was so much ELSE going on that some details were bound to be overlooked.
There is still time to FIX this situation however, IF action is prompt and decisive. Food and clean water MUST flow into Tokyo immediately. It seems the critical point is being reached right now and there may not BE any supplies within just a few days. This would be a new disaster with millions of victims.
Posted in: What do you think about all the panic buying of bottled water in Tokyo after reports that radioactive iodine exceeding the limit for infants was found in tap water in some wards?
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glycol57
So far as you know ...
Radiation effects can show up 20+ years later.
On the other hand, this is NOT Chernobyl. The amount of radiation is vastly less and the spectrum of radioactive products is narrower. Things could get worse - and time is important here also as radiation damage is cumulative, meaning long exposure to minimal radiation is equivalent to shorter exposure to more - but if there was going to be some spectacular fault in a reactor I think it would have happened by now.
Which leaves any reasonable person in a quandry about what to do. Don't panic, stick it out ... but risk long-term exposure - or be an UN-reasonable person, panic, lose job and friends and money and home ... but you won't have to worry about leukemia or thyroid cancer later on.
No clear answer. That's just how some things are in life.
I'd say wait patiently one more week and see what happens. By then they will have re-activated whatever cooling systems can be re-activated and see the results. The radiation over the past couple of weeks hasn't been THAT bad except near the power plant, so you ought to be safe waiting in Tokyo for at least one more week. THEN make the most reasonable decision you can.
Posted in: In view of the continuing nuclear crisis and ongoing aftershocks since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, are you planning to leave Tokyo or stay?
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glycol57
"Freedom of speech" DOES include shouting "Fire !" in a crowded venue. What the "freedom" means is that you won't be prosecuted by the State for what you actually uttered. "Fire !" and "Free Tibet !" and "Vote ABC Party !" are all to be the same to the State.
However ... words can have consequences, potentially damaging or even fatal consequences. If "Fire !" provokes a panic, you CAN be prosecuted for that and any damages to persons or property that result, financial losses etc..
In PRACTICE, it is common for State authorities to silence people attempting to provoke a mob - calling for violence, lynchings and other gross injustices or breeches of order even if the mob never does anything.
Such cases usually get thrown out of court later, quietly, the main idea being to give authorities the power to interrupt incitement at the moment it's being done, averting a riot or whatever. Strictly speaking it's a technical run-around the principle of free speech - they arrest you THEN, but drop the charge later.
In 1st-world nations, the main threat to free speech is no longer the State. Instead it is corporations and political groups. They exploit the "consequences" aspect of speech and SUE the bringers of bad tidings into oblivion. Large associations like businesses and political groups can afford the best lawyers, and lots OF them.
Persons who have uttered speech said groups may claim 'offensive' or libelous usually cannot afford that much legal firepower. One has to wonder whether the State sometimes encourages certain groups to sue 'offensive' individuals ... achieving State speech restrictions by proxy, invisibly.
Speech that may have provoked consequences - but indirectly or with a long time delay - usually escapes censorship entirely. If you shout "Vote ABC Party !" and the ABC Party later does something evil, you're not going to be prosecuted.
'Intangibles' like religion, philosophy and ideology likewise tend to slide under the censorship radar in 1st-world nations. This has frustrated a certain faction of Americans who desperately want to silence Islamists there.
In a similar recent case, a religious group which disrupts and protests the funerals of soldiers - claiming they deserved to die because the military tolerates homosexuals - elicited attempts to silence them. The highest court refused, saying the right to free speech (and freedom of religion) empowered that group even though it was horribly offensive to almost everybody. "Rights", of course, aren't needed for crowd-friendly speech ... they are needed to protect speech the crowd may NOT want to hear.
Posted in: Does freedom of speech include the right to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater, yell "Shark" at a beach or joke about having a bomb on a plane, for example?
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glycol57
Um ... the hands of a general who stages a coup ARE "bad hands". That NEVER seems to work out well.
Actually, I am proud of the Egyptian military. It did not turn on the people it was sworn to defend - and this in a part of the world where the military is commonly used for such purposes. Hopefully they will be an example to the military officials in other unstable countries.
Unfortunately, there have also been calls from islamist groups to have the military immediately attack Israel. This is a problem. The military must serve someone, something. It is a tool awaiting a job. If islamists wind up with significant power in the new Egyptian government, those "good guys" may be put to dangerously aggressive purposes. Do they refuse ? If so, whom do they serve except themselves ?
Posted in: Egypt's military promises no force against protests
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glycol57
You're perfectly correct ... except in this ONE special instance.
"Crime", especially spectacular crimes, is something certain criminals aim to profit from. Some want money, but others seek fame and celebrity.
They shouldn't get it.
I think every jurisdiction in the USA now forbids convicts from making money from films or books about their crimes ... at least so long as they're still in prison or parole.
There are also issues about creating 'celebrity' or personality cults and how that might affect the administration of justice. Bad enough when outsiders do it, but it's a given that a criminals efforts are intended to be purely self-serving.
Even 'democracies' make some exceptions to the usual rights of free speech and other rights when criminal behavior is involved. These individuals have betrayed the very system that sustained them AND their civil rights. As such, they lose certain rights.
This doesn't mean every 'criminal' should lose rights forever ... indeed the USA has expanded the definition of 'felony' so much now and to include much pure trivia that large blocs of the population - mostly poor & 'minority - are ineligible to even vote. Rights should be returned in a systematic fashion once a criminal has "done his time" and been a good boy for a while thereafter.
Posted in: Do you think Tatsuya Ichihashi, the suspect in the killing of British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, should have been allowed to write a book for publication before his trial?