sk4ek said...

sk4ek at 01:42 PM JST - 28th October

Another slow news day...

Posted in 23-year-old man arrested for skateboarding on busy pathway at 01:42 PM JST - 28th October
sk4ek at 12:38 PM JST - 28th October

Remember when restaurants used to have little "Please Refrain from Using Mobile Phones" cards on the tables? No more, except in a few hotel coffee shops--they've all given up. And somehow, a conversation carried out by mobile phone tends to be perceived as more irritating than the same conversation carried…

Posted in Self-centered zombies running rampant through Japanese society at 12:38 PM JST - 28th October
sk4ek at 04:00 PM JST - 27th October

I don't see how Japan is any better or worse in this respect. The U.S. has its "Gentleman's Clubs", its lap-dancing, its "escort services" where women end up exploited, abused, and dead with equal or greater frequency.

All reports indicate that this was a hard-working college student who had aspirations…

Posted in Police investigate possibility of stalker in slain Chiba university student case at 04:00 PM JST - 27th October
sk4ek at 11:58 AM JST - 27th October

One Japanese all-news station made the observation that Hatoyama's speech contained no fewer than 57 'You's, 'Our's, and 'the people's, while Aso's first speech as prime minister was dominated (at half the length) by a preponderance of 'I's and 'my's ... a telling difference.

The DPJ will stumble repeatedly, given…

Posted in Opposition blasts Hatoyama speech as 'redundant,' 'sentimental' at 11:58 AM JST - 27th October
sk4ek at 04:08 PM JST - 14th October

This is only a problem if the behavior of older employees at large companies is taken as "normal" and that of new recruits seen as aberrant. I think it's the other way around--the older generation is out of step with new ways of conducting business, and can't understand that the…

Posted in New breed of employees can’t communicate and wilt under pressure at 04:08 PM JST - 14th October
sk4ek at 11:08 AM JST - 10th October

These are cool but overpriced. I use a rechargeable LED table lamp from Muji for nighttime al fresco dining on my roof that works just as well for half the price (and has an auto-off feature, though it doesn't get near 45 hours of on-time per charge). And it's shaped…

Posted in Light of life at 11:08 AM JST - 10th October
sk4ek at 05:25 PM JST - 9th October

And as wibble points out above, compared to the premium associated with buying and shipping books from the U.S. (either directly through Amazon, etc. or a Japanese equivalent), this could be a great deal, at least for books and periodicals for which having the physical copy isn't such a priority.

Posted in Amazon cuts Kindle price, adds global version at 05:25 PM JST - 9th October
sk4ek at 05:23 PM JST - 9th October

As a resident of Japan, I've been curious about when and how Amazon would start making this device available to overseas users (I travel to the U.S. often enough that I could, perhaps, just buy one there, load it up with books, and bring it back here, but it would…

Posted in Amazon cuts Kindle price, adds global version at 05:23 PM JST - 9th October
sk4ek at 08:24 AM JST - 8th October

I've been through Narita security twice with a six-inch paring knife inadvertently left at the bottom of my carry-on bag, and wasn't stopped, nor was it detected on the way back going through security at Honolulu. Handguns, though, they usually find... :-/

Posted in American transit passenger with handgun arrested at Narita at 08:24 AM JST - 8th October
sk4ek at 07:36 AM JST - 6th October

Of course you see the same thing in the U.S., except it is more often hedge funds and high-load "turnaround" firms responsible for the misery. The article on Simmons in yesterday's NYT was a good example.

Posted in Kamei blames Keidanren for increase in family murders at 07:36 AM JST - 6th October