mikekchar said...

mikekchar at 12:07 AM JST - 24th September

Actually, societymike, shipping is a ridiculously efficient mode delivering goods. Shipping does account for 4% of world CO2 emissions, which is twice that of aviation (2%). But shipping also accounts for much more volume. Air cargo costs about 1.8 lbs of CO2 per ton per mile. Shipping costs less than…

Posted in Hatoyama pledges on world stage 25% emissions cut by 2020 at 12:07 AM JST - 24th September
mikekchar at 05:30 PM JST - 19th September

I've never been sued in Japan, but I have been sued in Canada. Often (as was my case) an accuser doesn't have any realistic expectation of winning at all. Their intent is intimidation. In my case an ex-employer (from whom I had quit) sued me for breach of contract. They…

Posted in SLAPP-happy: Freedom of speech under threat in Japan at 05:30 PM JST - 19th September
mikekchar at 11:25 PM JST - 15th September

Beelzebub: probably it is edible and nutritious. Normal chrysanthemums are, although some people have an allergy to the pollen. Should do OK in sandy soil too, but I find that chrysanthemums need a lot of water, so I'm not sure.

Posted in Suntory, partners develop world's 1st blue chrysanthemum at 11:25 PM JST - 15th September
mikekchar at 01:33 AM JST - 13th September

This may be redundant, but just to make it clear, the legal amount of alcohol in your blood when driving in Japan is 0. Everybody here knows this. The law is also perfectly clear about one other thing. If you knowingly allow others to drive when they have been drinking,…

Posted in Club host held for giving drinks to woman who caused fatal accident at 01:33 AM JST - 13th September
mikekchar at 09:01 PM JST - 25th August

I've done it, so I'll be happy to share what I know. I did 20 years as a successful software developer working insane hours, but getting paid pretty big bucks. I had the big house, the fancy car, the big flat screen TV, the works. I chucked it all and…

Posted in There are plenty of people who want a change in lifestyle, even to quit their jobs and head into the countryside to start again, but it isn't part of Japan's corporate culture to just leave in mid-career. They don't know how to go about it. at 09:01 PM JST - 25th August
mikekchar at 05:54 PM JST - 30th June

Generally, I have not been happy with the zoos in Japan. I went to the aquarium in Osaka recently and it, too, was really over stocked. It's too bad because if they decreased the number of animals and created better habitats the zoos would be vastly more interesting. I think…

Posted in One zoo to avoid at 05:54 PM JST - 30th June
mikekchar at 05:34 PM JST - 22nd June

I don't know what skills they will target, but I can tell you that for the average skilled IT worker (i.e., sysadmin, programmer, etc... not QA, product management, etc) the working conditions in Japan will probably be better than at home. 100 hour work weeks are not uncommon in Canada,…

Posted in Japan to introduce 'points system' to attract foreign experts at 05:34 PM JST - 22nd June
mikekchar at 11:47 PM JST - 7th June

879 cases in a year is about 2.4 per day. I know there are a lot of Japan bashers here, but officially announcing mislabeled products more than twice a day (or announcing around 17 per week) is going to do more to cover up the big problems than what they…

Posted in Gov't kept info on 90% of food mislabeling cases secret from consumers at 11:47 PM JST - 7th June
mikekchar at 07:46 PM JST - 2nd June

Back near 1900 a couple of guys name Michelson and Morely set about trying to find how fast the earth moved relative to the rest of the Universe. Since the earth moved in a circle around the sun they figured that they should be able to measure the speed of…

Posted in Galaxy seen emitting gamma rays 230 mil light years from Earth at 07:46 PM JST - 2nd June
mikekchar at 11:16 AM JST - 5th May

The only person I agree with here is shinjukuboy. Declining population is a good thing -- very, very, very good. The reason for our boom/bust economy is the myth of "sustainable growth". Within the next 50 years there will be an unrecoverable bust as we simply run out of food.…

Posted in Japan's child population falls to record low at 11:16 AM JST - 5th May