Wednesday February 15, 2012

sk4ek's past comments

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    sk4ek

    Ugg boots (when worn by Japanese tourists in Hawaii...why????). Women just look galumphy in them.

    Shoes so pointy they curl up at the toes--cummon guys!

    Hay-stack hairstyles (any Kabukicho host, GLAY)

    Dresses over jeans

    Velvet "Juicy Couture" track suits on international flights

    Backpacks worn with all the accessory straps and buckles fastened

    Giant bug-eye sunglasses

    50-year-old comedians dressed like Old Navy employees

    White athletic socks (or worse, anklets) worn with a business suit

    Darth Vader sun visors

    Tee shirts tucked into sweat pants

    Posted in: Which fashion trend do you most wish would die?

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    sk4ek

    Ack!! Ack!!

    Posted in: Bieber's 'Baby' is most-watched video on YouTube

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    sk4ek

    Surely there is a problem with some of these figures. 854 billion yen in false billing incidents??? That's more than $8 billion, or almost $800 million per incident. I think they mean 854 million yen, and 98.6 million yen...

    That said, Japanese people are hardly the only gullible ones. Otherwise, why do some obviously fraudulent phishing schemes ("Your order with Amazon", "Your FedEx Account") generate any response? Or why did thousands of elderly in the US give their Social Security, Medicaid, and other confidential information to strangers who then used it to defraud the government of hundreds of millions of dollars? Why does the so-called "Kenya Scam" still reel in victims?

    It's a problem everywhere. It just takes on different forms in different countries.

    Posted in: New program warns elderly against 'ore ore' scams

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    sk4ek

    I am a long-time fan of the Ritz-Carlton chain, though I've never stayed at their hotels on my own dime. I almost ended up working for them in Hawaii, and turning down that opportunity (in Asia/Pacific sales) is the one career move I've ever regretted. Their service philosophy--and the way they put it into practice--is unparalleled in the industry, despite some of the issues with language, etc. (which surprise me, given my past experiences).

    I wouldn't shell out $100 for one of their hamburgers, but coming into a hotel and being greeted by name before you've even had a chance to introduce yourself is a very nice feeling.

    Posted in: The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka sets the pace

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    sk4ek

    Recession is just a state of mind

    Yeah, tell that to the people crowding the Hello Work and social welfare offices...

    Oops, I forgot, that's not your customer base, is it.

    Posted in: The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka sets the pace

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    sk4ek

    I like these mass displays--tulips, lavender, cosmos--great use of idled farmland (though it would be better if the land were back in use for food production), and a sight better than a golf course, which can only be enjoyed by a few.

    Posted in: Purple patch

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    sk4ek

    Love the design, but you'd think they'd at least mention the name of the manufacturer so someone interested could go and look for one.

    Posted in: Silent strings

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    sk4ek

    Laureen is just so stunningly.... Canadian

    Posted in: Summitry

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    sk4ek

    For those of us averse to "real" exercise for one reason or another, the Wii can be a good starting point. Thanks to the Wii Fit board and software, I've been getting 20-30 minutes of perfectly legitimate exercise every morning, more than I ever got before (I work at home), and lost almost 50 lbs. as a result. Now that I've lost some weight, I'm more motivated to get out and walk around, even swim at the municipal pool, and I give credit to the Wii for much of that progress.

    And my living room is big, bright, and airy--hardly the dark, hellish cubicle of Mr. Chester's imagination.

    Posted in: No Wii can't

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    sk4ek

    I can understand people piling on Hayward, he's handled this whole thing in spectacularly poor fashion, but I do wonder what it is exactly that the people who disapprove of Obama's handling of the matter expect him to have done at this point?

    Posted in: BP CEO's yacht outing infuriates Gulf residents

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    sk4ek

    But he told The Associated Press that he plans to bring Hollywood stars, who support his cause, back to Taiji in September to make sure no dolphins are killed in this year’s hunt.

    What's the point of the Hollywood stars??? No one here will care who he brings... their star status will get them nowhere when it comes to dealing with the local people, certainly.

    Politics aside, it's truly regrettable that so many theaters have caved in to the pressure to censor their screenings.

    Posted in: Internet service company to show 'The Cove' in Japan

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    sk4ek

    Try renting in New York City, THEN bitch about Japan.

    Posted in: Why Japanese property managers are so strict on renting apartments

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    sk4ek

    Come on, you'd come across the same kind of problems in any blue-collar American factory town, too, despite our supposed state of enlightenment about things human resource.

    Still, diversity training is definitely poised to become a hot topic here. It is only a little bit about hiring and managing a more diverse group of employees, and a lot about managing preconceptions, resistance, and sometimes outright hostility among the existing workforce. Many companies get too tied up in hiring more...whatever--old people, the disabled, women, migrant workers--and forget to think about what happens once they hit the workplace.

    Posted in: Reconciling foreign workers' prayer breaks with production deadlines

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    sk4ek

    Look at Japanese movies from the early- to mid-sixties (especially the "Shacho" series)--summertime scenes with everyone in short sleeves and neckties, hardly a coat in sight. Much more sensible back then, but of course most offices didn't have central air either.

    Posted in: Does Cool Biz help or undermine productivity at the workplace?

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    sk4ek

    Pokkuriman: I think Roger Ebert would strongly object to his being characterized as "dying of cancer." While he has had several scary episodes, and much dis-configuring surgery, his cancer has not, according to his blog, returned at this point, and he is as active and healthy as can be expected under the circumstances...

    Posted in: Praying for a 'pokkuri' moment: No muss, no fuss

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    sk4ek

    Statistics from past years have indicated that workplace productivity drops as much as 7-8% with every one-degree rise in ambient temperature (adjusted for other factors like hours worked, type of work being done, etc.). Many of these so-called eco-activities being promoted in the workplace or on an individual level are fine in theory, but they are not addressing the real problems, like over-dependence on automobiles, wasted energy in manufacturing (although Japan is a global leader in working on this), and all the hot air coming out of Nagata-cho.

    Posted in: Does Cool Biz help or undermine productivity at the workplace?

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    sk4ek

    The Japanese may be pragmatic about thinking about death, but they are less so when it comes to preparing for it. Even as the population of elderly living alone continues to rise, social workers and health care case workers find it a real challenge to get old people to do things like prepare a will, fill out an advance health directive, or make other practical arrangements; it's always "too early" to talk/think about such things until, of course, it's too late (and many older people consider it bad luck, as well).

    Posted in: Praying for a 'pokkuri' moment: No muss, no fuss

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    sk4ek

    Any padded, upholstered chair is called a "sofa" in Japanese (I know not why), and they come as 1-seaters, 2-seaters (a "love seat" in the English-speaking world), and 3-seaters.

    Posted in: Massage chair

  • 0

    sk4ek

    Wow, some brilliant insights here.

    As has been noted elsewhere many times over the years, meetings in many Japanese companies are a place for confirmation, not discussion and decision-making.

    Confirming who does what. Confirming that consensus has been reached (usually somewhere other than at the meeting itself). Confirming schedules. Confirming each key participant's place in the corporate firmament.

    A lot of what looks like careful, deliberate dissection and analysis is really just jockeying for position and verification of responsibility (which is often pushed down the chain of command) and authority (which usually resides at the upper end of the chain).

    Still, I always admire the salarymen who come to meetings armed with a pencil case (when was the last time you saw an American businessman with a pencil case, for heaven's sake??), from which they'll pull out a pen (two or more ink colors), a mechanical pencil, a highlighter, and an eraser...

    That's what I call a work ethic!

    Posted in: Japanese company meetings: Getting by at the table

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    sk4ek

    You know, there are moves by some groups in the US to try to require automakers to develop and install some kind of "oops, don't forget the kid" technology in their cars...mostly tied to some sort of sensing device built into the child seat and/or seat belt. They have a point, I guess--the car will remind you with a buzzer if you leave the keys in the ignition, but not if you leave your child... but of course the technical and liability issues are more complex, and so far the automakers have not agreed to do anything.

    Still, I can't imagine how people can be so distracted as to do this--though it seems to happen in the US and elsewhere as often as it does here in Japan.

    Posted in: 9-month-old boy dies after being left in car by grandfather

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