Wednesday February 15, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

stipend's past comments

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stipendMar. 04, 2009 - 09:11PM JST

What? I don't want to buy the helicopter.

Let's compare with a chopper flight Vancouver-Victoria over there in NA. Flight time is about same and tickets start at CAD $75 (6000yen) for a student willing to do stand-by. The scheduled flight goes back and forth about a dozen times a day. Show up with cash and the regular 1 way is like $200. Honestly I haven't taken it. Float plane is cheaper.

At 189,000 yen you'd better come pick up me and my friends at the top of the tower across the street, fly us to the top of untouched mountain peaks until our legs fall off, build us a table (with your bare hands!) overlooking a glacial valley then fly up lunch from a restaurant caterer - none of this curry-rice crap! Also, I want bad weather a money back guarantee and a minimum of unspoiled peaks by day's end. You can film us if you like while we're skiing down and try to sell us the tapes. I'd probably pay extra for that ;-)

Posted in: Helicopter service starts from Shin Chitose to Niseko Village resort
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stipendFeb. 25, 2009 - 11:35PM JST

Really.. I don't even have to cross a light and I've got 6 within a two minutes' walk. elbudamexicano you gotta find a better place, or buy a fridge!

Was am/pm doing so poorly? Ah.. maybe I should have spoken to their driver sooner about his idling. I got it turned around tho but it did take a while.

Posted in: Convenience store chain Lawson reportedly to buy am/pm
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stipendFeb. 21, 2009 - 05:35PM JST

The good news is you can set up a tent or cardboard practically anywhere. The bad news is the best spots are gone. More homeless here too. I think more people should hi to these guys every now and then. Every time the police are around they always seem to know what the story is.

In Sadanori Suzuki's case I suspect he'd have gone from capsule hotel, usually pretty nice, expensive, -to- the internet cafe. Has he considered becoming a forester? They're hiring.

@ tkoind2: I agree.

Posted in: Job cuts swell ranks of homeless in Japan
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stipendFeb. 21, 2009 - 12:29AM JST

Hey, I hear hemp still grows wild in Hokkaido. Don't know if it's as good as the stuff you've been smoking but I'll meet you up there in a while, eh?

Oh and uh, yeah, we'll talk about stocks there too ;-)

Posted in: Japan stocks fall to near 4-month low
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stipendFeb. 21, 2009 - 12:22AM JST

Are you guys for real?

The US is creating another bubble. Watch where the dollar goes in 6 months time. The yen will go with it. Buy gold. Oh, are you still trusting the banks here too? Several are already lined up for handouts. I can't remember which ones, do you know?

@ some14some: Look at the decimal point. This is hardly a drop in the bucket. And how do you figure Japan was the contagion? Oh no, we're just a domino.

Posted in: Japanese stocks tumble as Topix hits 25-year low
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stipendFeb. 20, 2009 - 10:40PM JST

all this negative energy from Japan is dragging down the rest of the world

Really? It doesn't take an economist, man. Just check the business pages. Toyota, Panasonic, Sony, Nippon Steel shutting blast furnaces etc. That's reality. There is more ahead and a lot has yet to filter down. 60% of our food needs to be imported. Make plans, buy it now.

Posted in: Japan stocks fall to near 4-month low
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stipendFeb. 18, 2009 - 01:27AM JST

As a kid has anyone had the pleasure of rolling large stones off of high cliffs and watching them fall? Nakagawa's performance today was just like that. There is some perverse pleasure in seeing big rocks fall.

Sometimes a rock will get momentum and even before it reaches the edge already you know, it's gone! Ready? The economy is up next!

Posted in: Japan stocks fall to near 4-month low
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stipendFeb. 04, 2009 - 08:22PM JST

Word to the wise - Don't expect to breeze through the department store for the choco on the way to meet your sweety come the 14th. That might be a mistake. Last minute flowers works fine because nobody does that here and they're not busy. But over where they do the chocolates.. it is quite a different story.

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stipendJan. 29, 2009 - 02:29PM JST

Buy silver, buy gold. Stock up on food and make good friends of your neighbours - you're going to need them. And can you fix stuff? It should be interesting.

Posted in: We shall all have to pay - eventually
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stipendJan. 12, 2009 - 02:27PM JST

You guys are missing the point. Yadda yadda, police lieutenant, yadda yadda suspended sentence.

Lieutenant or not, perv or not, he hasn't done anything (that we know of). By leaving your home and entering public place it's accepted that you've given up some degree of personal privacy. Society wouldn't work any other way.

Under a woman's skirt is not a public place, nor is a bathroom stall (unless you open the door that is), nor a room in love hotel. You'd EXPECT complete privacy in these places. And there's the litmus test. This guy was on a train!

But not to defend him personally, I'm thinking about rest of society. Wake up!

Posted in: Cop arrested for taking picture of woman’s legs on train in Kanagawa
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stipendJan. 12, 2009 - 12:54PM JST

A copper doesn't know enough law to stand up for himself? Perv or not whatever light reaches the retina.. And what if he had been sketching?

Does he upload to a porn site or something? There must be more to it. I bet he was hanging upside down drooling on these poor people. Now that would be a nuisance!

Posted in: Cop arrested for taking picture of woman’s legs on train in Kanagawa
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stipendDec. 23, 2008 - 01:29PM JST

Yeah write an article and state the obvious. How do you still have your job?

Maybe because he's self employed?

Posted in: How not to get fired in a bad economy
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stipendDec. 23, 2008 - 01:22PM JST

herefornow says Christmas is superficial and materialistic. Why cry? Make it the day you want it to be. Some people do cos-play, some like hotels. So what?

I once paid a fortune for, and fought hoards of women for one of the last Christmas cakes here one Christmas Eve on the way to meet my date. I'm glad to have had that experience but never again! There was so much Christmas junk stuck into the top of that thing.. Santa, elves, part of a house..

It's evolving, always has been. Before it was the outrageously expensive dinner shows. Now not so much. Love hotels used to be seedy and tacky and that's mostly changed. For the young, as far as I can tell, it's always been about the date. Maybe this says something about sydenham's age (?) or maybe the outstanding people he's hanging out with.

At any rate, may peace be yours.

Posted in: A very Japanese Christmas
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stipendDec. 23, 2008 - 02:27AM JST

Well I'm here, for now, and I think everybody is.. "special" It's that time of year :-) And everybody's Christmas can be special too ;-)

My first few years here it was bizarre but that's the beauty of it. It is a challenge. To look at Christmas in a completely different light. In NA you almost can't. People would think you had rocks in your head. If Christmas has been stolen it's by the marketing machine over there which switches into super-hyper-drive. It's mind control. Wasn't Boxing Day a holiday at one time? A quiet day of rest? Turkey sandwiches? Kicking back with kin? Now most of my family SKATTERS! to overcrowded malls. And I have to go there if I want to spend time with them.

Posted in: A very Japanese Christmas
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stipendDec. 20, 2008 - 02:32AM JST

I vote for Japan. In NA there is nothing like being in the thick of it elbow to elbow with the heard, all eager shoppers but then there's the stress. The constant bombardment of advertisers and media telling us how we need to be perfect, how we need to be happy. Uh.. ok.. how we need to be nice. Everybody's busy, or pretending to be. Everyone is under stress yet everyone's supposed to be happy? It's just a day.

Christmas comes from the heart and it can be any day. It is what you make of it.

If I miss family or friends this time of year experience reassures me that it's much much better to go visit and spend the real quality time at any other time of the year. And that's what I do.

It is peculiar in Japan how at the stroke of midnight Christmas Eve all the decorations can disappear and suddenly.. they're all New Years decorations! That's cool! :-)

Posted in: A very Japanese Christmas
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stipendDec. 18, 2008 - 11:06AM JST

I'm surprised he didn't suggest washing your clothes in cold water.

Posted in: How not to get fired in a bad economy
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stipendDec. 18, 2008 - 01:01AM JST

Or you could live in a lean-to fashioned entirely from Grande Latte cups, like I do.

Great idea. Hey, you know I think I've seen your place.

In the year of the ox I predict Smart Partners goes belly up -along with the economy. Here is my list of suvival tips (all tested):

1) If you gotta go somewhere: walk, it's amazing how healthy you'll be

2) If you miss last train: set up some cardboard

3) If you need a good Mt bike: yahoo auction from 1000 yen or ask around, Japan is the land of over consumption and unloved Mt bikes

4) If you run out of food: ask at the bakery for a bag of bread crusts (likely free, great for French toast, oven pizza)

5) If you gotta have beer: brew your own, cheaper, healthier and tastes great

6) If the power company cuts you off: cook rice in the stairwell until you get it sorted out

7) To bathe: boil some of the water on the stove, more efficient, Bonus: it warms your room

8) To watch movies: find a sympathetic friend with a Tsutaya mail out account and borrow their DVDs Also: Newer city libraries in your area may have movies with viewing booths (cool outing)

9) In case the world economy does come to an end: keep money out of the bank, keep some in an envelope under the tatami.

And last but not least: 10) Have a supply of gold and silver to be able to barter your way onto the last seat of the last plane out of here.

Disclaimer: for amusement purposes only ;-)

Posted in: How not to get fired in a bad economy
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stipendDec. 16, 2008 - 09:00PM JST

USB to warm food? That's ITSA (IT-Stone Age). Their site also shows a heated USB mouse - and that's going on my wish list :-)

Posted in: USB-connected hot lunch bag
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stipendDec. 01, 2008 - 01:59PM JST

changing a couple of genes (proteins) ain't gonna kill you!

The genie gets out and there is no bringing it back.

Posted in: Food crunch opens doors to bioengineered crops
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stipendDec. 01, 2008 - 01:35PM JST

Since when did subsistence farming cost anything? Patented GM seed DRIVE people to starvation.

Pro-GM people should go study economics and have a reality check with the physical results of their science.

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/blogs/287/Monsanto-and-GMO-crop-video.html

Posted in: Food crunch opens doors to bioengineered crops