Wednesday February 15, 2012

zaichik's past comments

  • 0

    zaichik

    I never got food poisoning in the entire time I lived in Japan. The quality of food was consistently good at the supermarkets in Niigata.

    And eggs are sold unrefrigerated in NZ as well....

    Posted in: Supermarket investigator exposes slipshod quality management

  • 0

    zaichik

    considering Joetsu is my favorite place in all of Japan

    Really, Taka? What's your connection with the city? I was CIR there from 1998 to 2000.

    I'm reassured to see I wasn't the only one who thought this wasn't the best example to set the kids.

    Posted in: Niigata school vice principal under fire for ordering soccer team to lose game

  • 0

    zaichik

    I'm happy to bow to the judgment of those who are better versed in football rules and etiquette than I :-)

    Happy Easter, everyone.

    Posted in: Niigata school vice principal under fire for ordering soccer team to lose game

  • 0

    zaichik

    Any professional soccer coach would do exactly the same if it meant the difference between facing a Barcelona or a Tottenham Hotspurs

    Seriously? To the point of getting players to score 6 own goals?

    Posted in: Niigata school vice principal under fire for ordering soccer team to lose game

  • 0

    zaichik

    Somewhat sharp practice and not really the best example to set to kids.

    When I was CIR in Joetsu, one of my friends was the ALT at this school. It was one of the better local schools, not a breeding ground for delinquents like Kasuga-chu was.

    Posted in: Niigata school vice principal under fire for ordering soccer team to lose game

  • 0

    zaichik

    I still like my Vitz, though I do wish I'd gone for a slightly bigger engine - she struggles to do 80 up the Harbour Bridge in the mornings. Still, the fuel economy's good and she's easy to manouvre....

    Posted in: Toyota banks on tiny, green but pricier iQ model

  • 0

    zaichik

    Personally, I think the remark is quite amusing....

    I remember the fuss that MoFA made when the institute where I used to work produced a publication containing a map of Northeast Asia that showed the Kuriles as Russian territory (the same colour as Russia was on the map). We ended up having to get stickers printed up showing the Kuriles in white (i.e. not the same colour as any of the other countries), and then sent them out to all the recipients of the publication so they could stick them over the offending map, if they wanted. Presumably the Russian recipients didn't bother....

    Posted in: TBS clarifies Mino Monta’s remark that Japan should buy back Northern Territories

  • 0

    zaichik

    This would have been more amusing had it been "enka singer marries Mark E. Smith".... (/obscure indie reference)

    Posted in: Enka singer Yoko Nagayama marries American entrepreneur

  • 0

    zaichik

    I liked her in Odoru Daisosasen....

    Posted in: From stage to screen to behind-the-scenes, Miki Mizuno does it all

  • 0

    zaichik

    Although I think the driver was a bit dim for not asking to see (or even get hold of) some of the money up-front, I've been in a somewhat similar position and was grateful to a Chinese taxi driver for taking a chance. Mr Zaichik and I had to go to Beijing in September 2006, for our interview for permanent residence in NZ (since the NZ embassy in Japan doesn't do residence visas). We couldn't get a flight from Niigata to Beijing via Incheon and had to fly Incheon - Tianjin instead. Since Tianjin is an "international airport", we thought we'd be able to change money when we got there. We were wrong. We couldn't even change money at a nearby hotel unless we paid for a room there. Fortunately, we were able to get a taxi driver to drive us from Tianjin to Beijing, where we were staying with friends, who paid the taxi fare in RMB and who we repaid in yen. Mind you, Tianjin to Beijing is only a couple of hours by road and a damn sight cheaper than 35 man!

    Posted in: Man arrested after taking taxi from Tokyo to Fukuoka and refusing to pay Y359,230 fare

  • 0

    zaichik

    ASUS certainly wasn't unknown in Japan 4 years ago, when Mr Zaichik bought Asus components to build our PCs.

    Posted in: Japan warming to cheap foreign gadgets amid slump

  • 0

    zaichik

    Wow!

    I agree with you, shugotokumaru, for all the reasons you gave. Wish we had ume in NZ (well, you can buy the trees wholesale, but you have to buy at least 10 and we haven't room for an orchard....)

    Posted in: Plum blossoms

  • 0

    zaichik

    The robot often looked surprised, opening its mouth and eyes in a stunned expression, when the demonstrator asked it to smile or look angry.

    Tarentobot - only able to respond with kawaii! oishii! kakkoii! But a robot tarento would be no good - impossible to generate publicity through tabloid scandals.

    Now this is a cool robot: http://kiyomori.jp/main.html

    Samuraibot!

    My friend is trying to get funding to bring it to NZ later this year for the annual Japan Festival in Auckland....

    Posted in: Walking, talking female robot to take part in fashion show

  • 0

    zaichik

    I&'m done with Norika

    I'm sure she'll be devastated.

    Maybe I am biased but wouldn't Norika do better in an international marriage?!

    Well, maybe you have a chance, since cracaphat's now out of the running.

    I have something of a soft spot for Norika, as I remember watching some drama of hers when I first moved to Japan, and I'd hoped that this wasn't some kind of celeb publicity stunt sham marriage. And maybe it wasn't - they just underestimated the difficulties of the long-distance relationship even after marriage.

    Posted in: Fujiwara, Jinnai divorcing after two years of marriage

  • 0

    zaichik

    I don't imagine that having these packets burst in your stomach would be as dangerous as if they contained heroin or cocaine, but I'm sure it would give you a pretty nasty time....

    Posted in: Drug suspect, caught at Narita, had 273 packs of cannabis in stomach

  • 0

    zaichik

    Anyway, she is certainly beautiful and sounds like she might have a couple of brain cells to spare - a bit more to her than the average tarento, who's fit only to squeak "cute! delicious! gorgeous!"

    Posted in: Jun Hasegawa capitalizes on 'haafu' look

  • 0

    zaichik

    Hell Dust Mite

    ROTFLOL!

    The pic's completely overexposed

    It can be difficult to get a good photo, because of the steam....

    It is a great place to visit, though - went there in 1998 and again on New Year's Day 2006, when it was covered in snow and the closer car park was closed, so we had to hike from the upper one. We were staying in Yudanaka Onsen, which is really nice and has a rather cool barrier-free ryokan: http://www.avis.ne.jp/~hakura/

    Natsukashii!

    Posted in: Snow monkeys

  • 0

    zaichik

    Hmmm...unfortunate in light of the Ichihashi debacle, but not the end of the world.

    Congrats on being about to gain an SIL, Cleo!

    Posted in: Handcuffed man escapes police after molesting woman in Aichi

  • 0

    zaichik

    And doubtless there will be a few choruses of the Fields of Athenry....

    Posted in: Tokyo’s St Patrick’s Day Parade – It’s a long way from Tipperary

  • 0

    zaichik

    But the industry isn't big and unified enough for workers to be rallying.

    Too much competition, for starters, plus the amateurs vs professionals thing you mentioned. Ah well, back to whoring myself around a variety of translation companies.

    Not even in pink bunny suits.

    Maybe purple axolotl suits might do it?

    Posted in: Workers rally

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