Centipede Crawling Over Me

Look Up

2012-01-25T00:02:00.002+09:00

OK, I didn't take these 3 pics on the same day or anything, but they all seemed to fit together. I really like the 1st one, but the other 2 are decent as well.

I'm looking up at the sky and the leaves and flowers and fruit.

Nice to see a little variety in leaf coloration.

Japan CM of the week - Sony Sonpo

2012-01-20T16:33:00.000+09:00

OK, this one's kind of old, but I'm posting this Sony car insurance CM here mainly because the salesgirl, Miori Takimoto (瀧本美織), is just now starring in a TV show, Hungry (Fuji TV, Tuesdays at 10pm). It's a story about a guy who wanted to make it as a rocker but failed, and so now is trying his hand as the chef of a French restaurant.

It also stars the very talented Osamu Mukai (向井理), and seems to be a nice, light-hearted drama, and is worth a peek, if not for anything else than to see Takimoto looking very tanned and actually kinda sexy.

She may not have the best body or most stunning looks, but she's a decent, earnest actress and her eyes seem to draw you in. Just watch the commercial and you'll see what I mean.

Hello supercut

2012-01-20T16:21:00.002+09:00

Yes, this may be the best movie supercut ever. Found on animal.

Who says crows aren't smart?

2012-01-14T15:36:00.003+09:00

A video taken by a Russian family of a crow sledding on a roof. Who says crows don't know how to have a good time?

Thanks for the find, gizmodo.

The anti-whaling movement's failure

2012-01-14T15:34:00.000+09:00

The other day I had my aha! moment. I was watching a Japanese TV variety program with Takeshi Kitano and Tsurube discussing whatever the hell they wanted to talk about in an open discussion format. It was very interesting, mainly because Takeshi is a very intelligent guy, and seeing him able to talk freely like that was a rare treat.

Among other things like the issue of Yakuza infiltrating the media in Japan, the nuke disaster, climate change and the prevalence of poop jokes in late-night TV, the one topic that really got my attention was the issue of whaling.

So what do Takeshi and Tsurube think about whaling, the Sea Shepherd and all that?

Their ideas can be summed up simply: how dare the Aussies and others tell Japanese not to whale? It's our culture!!

And that was it. The argument is done. I had heard similar statements before, but seeing someone intelligent like Takeshi put it so simply, and in such a direct way made it really hit me.

The anti-whaling movement cannot win.

But it's not because of the value of whaling itself. The anti-whaling movement is failing because the way they framed the issue.

Before all the hub bub about the Sea Shepherd and all that there were 2 distinct arguments you could use to attack whaling:

Whaling is bad because whales are noble/intelligent/sentient/whatever creatures. Whales feel pain. Whaling is morally wrong.

Or, the very different stance:
Whaling is bad because many species of whales are still in danger of going extinct, and whaling as an industry is so hard to regulate that it can drive others to dangerous levels as well.

Which of these arguments is stronger?

Obviously the second argument. That is the one I've always been in favor of, but not just for whaling - there is as much concern for many of the ocean's resources, whether they be whales, tuna, sharks or whatever. Over-fishing (and whaling) is a real problem, and it must be addressed.

But the problem is that the Sea Shepherd and other anti-whaling activist groups have focused so much on the cultural/moral aspects of whaling that they have ruined their own position. And that's because not only can you not win a argument like this, making the argument itself weakens your ability to argue.

And it's because the cultural/moral argument is so easy to defeat:

If you say you shouldn't whale because whales feel pain/fear and that they're smart creatures, then what about pigs and other farm animals? Pigs have to be killed in private or it'll cause others watching the slaughter die of heart attacks (making them unusable for human consumption). Takeshi brought that argument up. What about chickens? I've personally seen a chicken recoil in fear from a camera after having a flash go off in its face. Obviously they do learn/react/maybe think about the world around them. So is it OK to keep them in tiny pens, waiting to have their necks broken? I don't think so.

So how can you say people shouldn't whale because it's cruel, when other practices are just as bad?

And while the Sea Shepherd people will then counter with a we're vegetarians so that doesn't apply to us comment, they've still lost, because in admitting that there's cruelty in other areas of agriculture that they're not attacking, it makes their anti-whaling stance seem more and more like cultural elitism (which it is, really, if you look at it from the Japanese point of view).

So the argument is lost before it's even started, and not only that but making anti-whaling arguments from the point of view of moralism only will back whaling defenders even more into a corner. You get people who don't really even give a shit about whaling defending it, because they perceive their culture being attacked.

So please, people, stop saying that killing whales is bad because of the morality point of view. It doesn't matter what the whales feel, the argument cannot win.

A-Lin, live in Taipei

2011-12-30T18:07:00.002+09:00

Here are some pics I took of the Taiwanese artist, A-Lin, while she was giving a free concert. Here's a link to her official page (which seems to have some problems), and her videos online.

It wasn't a long concert - only 3 songs - but put on a good performance despite the cold, and gave a long interview to her fans and gave out tons of autographs.

I didn't get close enough to get a signature, but I did get nudged into buying her new album, 我們會更好的, which is pretty nice.

A month with the Galaxy

2011-12-30T17:12:00.000+09:00

OK, it's been about a month, so I think it's time for my review of the Samsung Galaxy S2 (screen cap taken above). So how has using this dual-core android 2.3.5 beast been? Let me give you a rundown.

I like:

Using the phone has been mostly a treat. Here's a list of the good points I've found so far.

The hardware: The screen is absolutely brilliant, and tho it is 4.3" the slim bezel makes the phone pretty easy to hold on to, and the right side position of the power button is just perfect for left handed holding. The glass on it is also gorilla glass, and it does well in durability tests, so not having to worry about breakage is a nice comfort.
The little extras: Samsung's TouchWis interface may not be for everyone (I dumped it and loaded LauncherPro after a week, much better), but 2 little features they added to the phone are really nice. First, as you can see in the pic to the right, when you pull down the notification bar, it also has a spot to turn on or off various settings, like Wi-Fi and GPS. Not having to keep a widget loaded to do that stuff is nice. Samsung also ~~copied~~ borrowed the screen capture feature on iPhones - just push home + power and you're taking pics.
The speed: this phone is fast. Tho still not as smooth as an iPhone 4S (me and a friend tested side-by-side), starting and transitioning between apps is quick and painless, and since I've been using it it hasn't bogged down or froze once.
Battery life: yes, it is pretty amazing. When I was using the pre-installed TouchWis interface I was getting a full day's usage with about 50% battery left when I go to bed, but now that I switched to LauncherPro it's even better. The lowest I've ever got it down to was 30% and that was after using maps, reading tons of shit, and watching videos while in bad reception.
Wi-Fi: this deserves special mention. I just went on a trip to Taipei and when I got to the hotel I turned on Wi-Fi for the 1st time. And holy crap, does it connect fast. Not only does it find hotspots quickly it logs in to remembered spots almost instantaneously, waay faster than my old HTC Desire, and much faster than when I was using an iPhone 3GS.

I don't like:

If that was all there is to the phone, I'd say get one now, immediately. But, alas there are a few little quirks I've found that make it not quite so perfect.

The GPS: Um, does this phone even have a real GPS chip? In Japan when using my cell signal + GPS it seems to work OK, tho still not as quickly or as accurately as my Desire. But the Galaxy's GPS failed me a few days ago, in a situation where it was really needed. I was in Taipei, a little lost and tired and wanting to go back to the hotel. I pull out my Galaxy and check the maps. No can do. I sit and sit under the clear night sky and can never get a location. Meanwhile my friend next to me pulls out his iPhone 4 and we get a bearing almost instantly. And note: neither one of us had a data connection and were both working on cached maps. This is kind of a huge letdown because my Desire never had a problem with this. I'm hoping an update can fix it.
The strange signal failures: This is kind of an odd problem. It doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen every once in a while. It says I have a data connection, but it just won't do anything. I can't download anything and can't send or recieve email. If I turn on airplane mode and then switch the data back on it always fixes it. Odd. And irritating.
The phone is slick: no, I don't mean performance-wise (tho it is). I mean the phone is physically slippery, to the point that I was afraid enough that I might huff the phone just by pulling it out of my pocket that I went and got a grippy cover for it. Which kind of irritates me since personally I prefer to let my phones run naked and free, like God intended them to be.

But that's about it. OK, I should also mention that while the camera seems nice, it isn't as good as the iPhone 4S's cam... but that's not a huge one.

Overall, I have to say it's a great phone. And I would recommend it 100% to anyone wanting a high-end android handset that also can last through the day without having to plug it in to a wall.

I also think every other android maker has to start adding in features like Samsung has in the pull-down menu. That one little menu above the notifications bar saves tons and tons of time in actual usage, and really is a spot where Samsung shows their design skills.

Game of the Week - Princess Punt

2011-12-24T09:44:00.000+09:00

OK, I usually don't talk about mobile games or apps, but this one is too good to go without mentioning.

The game is called Princess Punt (Kerihime Quest in Japanese - ケリ姫クェスト), and it's just damn fun.

At first glance it may seem like another cheap copy of Angry Birds, but it's so much more. It has good artwork, nice RPG-like elements, and a simple funny story.

The game can be summed up simply: you play a princess on her quest to find Prince Charming, but along the way a bunch of ugly enemies stand in your way. So what do you do? You find a hero to punt at the enemies and chop them down.

Your hero starts as a swordsman, but equip a bow on him and he becomes an archer. Put a wand in his hand and he's a mage. As you find new equipment you unlock new classes and new ways to battle your foes.

The game is free (for at least the first 5 areas I believe), so download it now on the android market.

Japan CM of the week

2011-12-24T09:34:00.001+09:00

A Mitsuya Cider commercial featuring the always great, always beautiful Keiko Kitagawa (北川景子).

Hey Moon!

2011-12-24T09:30:00.004+09:00

It looks like the clouds are coming in to blanket the moon like that. Kinda cool.

Japan CM of the week - Katsunori

2011-12-18T17:06:00.002+09:00

I'm not sure exactly why, but I just dig this commercial. OK actually I do know. It's a rare chance to see Katsunori Takahashi (高橋克典) acting like a goofball.

He may be unknown in the US, but he's a damn good actor, usually doing serious stuff like Akuto - Serious Crimes Unit (悪党〜重犯罪捜査班), a series I highly recommend that's kind of like a Japanese version of the Shield.

Click here to see more of Hagoromo's commercials.

Pakuri Tengoku... Japan (?)

2011-12-18T13:31:00.000+09:00

There are only two things you can count on when watching Japanese TV.

Every variety program, if left without a main topic for more than a few weeks, will eventually turn into a show where you watch talents eating food, exclaiming how awesome it all is.
Every news program seems to be required by law to do a special on Chinese fakes, usually with the subtitle 中国：パクリ天国？ (China - Ripoff Kingdom?)

For the most part I have to agree with them. Just walking around China and you're sure to find a bunch of fakes (this pic is from Hong Kong - and while it's not an exact ripoff you get the idea).

But then again, walk around Tokyo and you can find the same thing. Maybe not as blatantly, but head back into Ameyoko in Ueno and you'll definitely see stacks of Rorex watches among other obvious fakes on sale. It has gotten a lot better - when I first got Japan you could find fakes near just about any major station and now you really have to look - but they're still there.

Listening to the news programs, you hear all the time about the billions of dollars lost to people buying fakes, and so on and so on, but is that really the case?

What I mean is, is China's seeming propensity (according to the news) to copy everything in retail and as a government turn a blind eye to it, actually so bad?

I don't think so. And there are 3 simple reasons.

Not every fake sold is a a loss for the real maker. Just because you have some guy in China buying an iPhone 5 (?) that looks a lot like the real iPhone 4S before it went on sale, doesn't mean that guy would've bought a real Apple phone instead had the fake not existed. He probably couldn't afford it, and if he could, he would've bought the real thing, because half the point of owning luxury products is to show off that you have them. No one feels proud showing off a fake Rorex on your wrist - you feel like a dumbass.
Fakes are free advertising. When someone sees a fake Gucci bag and how cool it is, what do they yearn for? A fake of their own? I don't think so. They want the real thing. If they never have enough money to get one they won't buy one anyway, so the fake didn't hurt the real company. But if they do get enough money they buy the real one - meaning Gucci just benefitted from the fake. The same is true of any item.

Apple has complained a lot about Samsung and others copying the iPhone (to the point of suing them), but it's the same thing in many ways. When someone sees a cool-ass Samsung Galaxy (which I own, and to me does feel in many ways like an iPhone imitation - I won't go so far as to say copy), what do they think in their mind, if they don't know anything about phones? I know they don't think man, I need that cool Samsung Galaxy. What they're thinking is man, I need a smartphone. And to people new to the market the biggest selling item defines the category - hence the Galaxy becomes an advertisement for an iPhone because it's the one they see ads on TV for and it is the best known model.
A fake that stimulates the market benefits everyone. Take Meizu. It started out making blatant copies of iPhones. But their newer products now are better in some ways than the real thing. Being one-upped by a "fake" has got to hurt, and it forces Apple and the other top dogs to keep going. The Meizu now is a really high end phone that's got enough of it's own direction that you can't really even call it a fake.

But even with outright copies, the existence of these cheap fakes make more and more people able to buy them. This makes the market grow, often in areas where there was no market to begin with (China didn't get iPhones for 2 years but fakes were floating around since almost the get go). And as in any industry, the bigger the market, the more the top players benefit.

Ok, so this post has gotten a bit long now, so I'll wrap it up. Are fakes a problem? When they take away from actual sales, yes. But I've heard several times on Japanese TV that fakes are going to eventually kill the Chinese economy. Sounds like a lot of crying about something that isn't that big of a problem. IMO if anything the "holy shit fakes are ruining the economy" crowd should instead focus on game, movie and music piracy - which tho also very highly overblown, is a problem but also one that can be addressed.

Japan TV program of the season

2011-12-14T23:01:00.000+09:00

This is the opening of Shinya Shokudo (深夜食堂, season 2), now airing on TBS Tuesday after midnight. It's now in the second season, and it's well worth watching if you have the chance.

The show is about an all night eatery in Shinjuku - Tokyo's old entertainment district, that was once the place to hang out, but is now seen as kind of shady and shabby, where you go to get away from the world, maybe find a hooker or a pachinko parlor, and drink your time away.

The proprietor of the little bar/restaurant (played by Kaoru Kobayashi) is a friendly guy who seems to know everyone, and is probably ex-yakuza. Kobayashi plays the part well, giving the owner of the shop (known only as "Master"), a nice laid back feeling. You get the idea he's seen a lot and knows how to deal with all kinds of people, and he frequently can be seen giving simple life lessons to the pimps, dancing girls, wandering musicians and others who stop in.

Shinya Shokudo is only a half hour long per episode, but it is shot with an exactness and attention to timing and scenes that it feels like you've been watching it longer. The night city scenery is also shot with a crispness and high quality that really draws you in.

And... I just like the show. It reminds me of a different Japan that I wish I'd seen, but now doesn't really exist.

Persimmon Tree, Statue

2011-12-04T13:45:00.001+09:00

A persimmon tree that looked like the crows got to most of it. Nice perspective tho.

A little statue of Basho (I believe), outside the temple.

MW3

2011-12-04T13:00:00.001+09:00

I just finished the single player mode of Modern Warfare 3 (on hardened), so I thought it was high time I wrote up a little review of the game.

The single player experience was, like the previous 2 Modern Warfare titles, more like playing two different games. On some missions you are with a huge group of friendlies, fighting gobs and gobs of Russian and sometimes African or Middle Eastern bad guys. The other type of levels has you doing semi-sneaky infiltration-esque missions with just a few friendlies.

The big group levels are, to put it bluntly, non-game sequences. As has been mentioned elsewhere, there are far too many sequences in these kind of places where you are just simply following orders. When the game wants you to shoot, you shoot, and then wait till a more important person goes ahead, who then gives you orders to follow him. These levels have a lot of spectacle, but aren't much fun, especially since a lot of the time will be spent hiding behind a platform to heal because every bad guy in the game seems to be gunning for you, (tho that makes sense since for the most part none of your companions can die).

But then there are the other levels, usually where you play a SAS team or special Russian agent guy, where you move along, completing tasks, and killing bad guys like an old style FPS. And these levels are fun - real fun - especially towards the end of the game, where there is a nice buildup and a satisfying climax.

Oh, and as for plot and continuity, this has to top any of the other MW games. But this ain't saying a whole lot, since to do this they just had to ensure that the story was at least not blatantly confusing. But I think you will have fun doing it, and I personally like how they wrap up the 3 part series.

Now, we come to the multiplayer experience. I had high hopes, especially since I did have a lot of fun playing Black Ops (when the connections were good). All I have to say is Modern Warfare 3's multiplayer is the biggest polished turd I've ever seen.

OK, it's not as bad as the blatantly unbalanced MW2. But it's close.

And it's because of one reason: Modern Warfare 3 gives you endless customization and tweaking, the ability to unlock tons of new perks to use, and tons of new guns, all with a mind-numbing array of sights and attachments to put on them - all so that you can be killed instantly by a guy who seemed to teleport around a corner.

Now occasionally (just occasionally), when all connections are good it can play well. But this is very rare. Most of the time, I get kills on people that give me the suspicion that I was a blur on their screen. And the same happens when I get killed.

Just watch the killcam replay and you have all the evidence you need: on your screen you see a guy pop around a corner, and you're dead instantly. Then on the replay you see them run around, see you, pull up gun and start shooting, killing you in 7 bullets. So where were those bullets on your screen? Where did that time go? The answer is nowhere. The game has serious server issues, and conceals them by having insta-kills like this.

So am I glad I got to see the conclusion to the story? Yes. Would I recommend this game for someone who wants to have a fun multiplayer experience? No way.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the style of the multiplayer is the problem. It's not. I like run and gun FPS if they're done right. But this isn't. It's a nice looking, easy to control, deep online system, that is just not fun (IMO) because of server issues.

Japan CM of the week - Bruce 2!!

2011-11-20T21:29:00.001+09:00

The next episode in Bruce Willis' stint of commercials for Diahatsu (the first is here). I don't know which I like more, Bruce hamming it up in a semi-parody of silly foreigner commercials, or the old guy.

I also have to hand it to Daihatsu. This is a nice, funny commercial series that really sticks in your mind.

The storm

2011-11-20T21:15:00.001+09:00

Last night we had a crazy storm. It was like real typhoon winds and rain, in November. As I mentioned in my last post, this fall has been pretty nuts weather-wise in Japan. Heck, the whole year has.

And on top of that we had a decent sized earthquake last night, and another one today. When does it end?

Anyway, the pics I'm posting here are views from my apartment when I got home tonight. Pretty nice, actually, tho I wouldn't want to go for a walk under those clouds.

fall comes again

2011-11-20T21:08:00.001+09:00

It's officially fall now in Japan. OK maybe not really. We went from nearly freezing weather a week ago to almost summer like weather this weekend, including what felt like a typhoon. My gut says fall this year is going to be a lot like spring was - short and unpredictable.

But the colors on trees are changing and it's slowly progressing towards winter.

What are your plans for the end of the year? Myself, I plan on enjoying my time here in this area in Japan. I may end up fleeing to warmer locales at the end of the year, but for now I plan on going on a few short trips into the nearby mountains to check out places I haven't been to in ages. A month or so ago I went down to Kisarazu for the first time in 13 years. Maybe I should hit Nikko or Enoshima, both great spots to visit this time of year.

Digger, cats

2011-11-08T20:51:00.000+09:00

Just a pic of a digger near the lake by my apartment. I had a walk the other day around the lake.

Little did I realize but there's a family of very friendly cats living in the area too.

This one was a bit more shy, but obviously someone must take care of them because after a few seconds of hesitation they came up for a pet.

Oh, these pics were also all taken with the GXR 50mm A12 lens. I picked it up a week ago. I had been happy with the 28mm lens only, but recently I realized I needed another lens that also would give good resolution pics, but a bit closer. So I got the 50. I think these pics and more I'll post later show just how great the lens is.

I also have to say I kind of like the 50mm length. While it may be a bit close for scenery pics, it gives a bit more intimacy than a wider lens, as you can see here.

Man, I love my Ricoh.

The Walking Dead are back!

2011-11-06T14:11:00.002+09:00

And on Hulu.

Yup, actually in case you needed another reason to get Hulu in Japan, you just got 2.

This week, they added in the first 3 seasons of 30 Rock and just this morning the first episode of season 2 of The Walking Dead, which if you haven't seen it yet I'd have to ask you what you're doing with your life.

So go there and watch it. Or if you have Fox JP you can watch it there too.

Nikon 1 impressions

2011-10-30T21:58:00.001+09:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to try out Nikon's new 1 series cameras the other day.

OK, it wasn't anything official. I just picked them up in store and played with them.

Here are my impressions:

First, unlike what some people have been saying, I actually like the looks of the J1 and it's big viewfinder packing brother the V1. Yes, they both seem like Nikon borrowed heavily from Samsung's NX100 for design (which seems to borrow from the GF2). I usually prefer a nice grip on the front, but Nikon's 1 cams are both very easy to hold on to and (mostly) easy to use.

Now for the finer details. Nikon, you see, has gone ultra simple here. And this could be a deal breaker for some.

The mode dial has only 4 modes - still pics, smart photo (ie auto), movie, and motion snapshot. Yes, and they occupy about 40% of the physical space on said dial. Why they wouldn't even put PASM on it is beyond me - they had room. You can go into menus to switch to more manual shooting modes. Just like you can go into the menus to change ISO, WB or whatever... On cameras of this price I feel that an addition of quick function buttons for often accessed options is a no-brainer, but that's just me.

The Nikon J1 and V1 also have this odd toggly button on the top right corner that I find to be just plain odd. The bottom spinny dial is so nice and responsive, so what's the deal with this wonky sluggish thing? Why not just go with a simple jog dial as found on tons of other cameras in this or lower price ranges? Clicking it to move through apertures felt like a chore, and that's one place where you want a camera to work smoothly.

As for its ability to take pictures, it feels like the AF is fast and works well, and looking around online at samples it seems to be an easy competitor for the Olympus and Panasonic micro four-thirds cams or others of the same size and price range. So it seems like a decent entry into the field.

But if you look at features and usability compared to price, that becomes harder to say. It's similar in size to other entries into the field or slightly bigger, and lenses on the Nikon 1 system tend to be a bit slower (as in lower max aperture) than many of its competitors, and it's a bit on the pricey size. So what's there to set it apart, really?

If the 10mm pancake had been a bit faster, it would be a bit more compelling. Or if it had had more mode buttons. Or a fast long prime lens.

No, I'm not specifically looking for a new camera, but a piece of me was hoping the Nikon V1 (I want the viewfinder) would be so good I'd have to get it. But it isn't.

Maybe in 6 months or a year when new lenses or expanded functions in a firmware update come out, or when the price drops it might be what I am looking for.

Oh, and check this out. It's DigitalRev's Review of the V1. I agree with most of what Kai has to say here.

Your blue eyes = fail

2011-10-30T15:42:00.001+09:00

It's always nice to have a bit of racism/racial elitism tossed your way.

There was a group of people, mostly Japanese but with one Chinese person present and then me. This was a conversation class I was teaching, so I couldn't get too mad or I might lose the job (this happened actually several years ago - I was just reminded of it by someone bringing up almost the same thing yesterday).

Anyway, the topic of discussion was colors; specifically we were talking about symbolism various cultures attach to different colors, and talking about how this possibly came to be, and modern applications of old color symbolism. It was a very high-brow intellectual discussion.

Until one guy decides to ruin the mood.

This old guy tosses out this little bit of wisdom: that white people love the color red because our blue eyes don't let us see red as deeply as Asians do with their "black" eyes.

Now, one of the other class members was quick to point out that while many Japanese people say they have black eyes the actual color of their irises is brown. And so he jokingly suggested that maybe Asians then can't see yellow or some other color as well as people with blue or green eyes. The old guy's response: yes, Chinese people with brown eyes probably don't see yellow well; hence the Chinese affinity for... red (?!?).

At this point, the scientist in me had to intervene. I was also hoping to save the class before more feelings got hurt. I pointed out the fact that you don't see through your irises at all - it's the pupil (the black hole at the center) that lets in light. From your point of view your eye color makes no difference, since you can't see it anyway.

I don't think this brief explanation satisfied him at all. But he shut up. Maybe he realized that the whole point of his line of dialogue was: hey you whitey (and Chinese lady while I'm at it), your blue eyes suck!! I doubt it tho.

Well, that's about all of what happened. I'm posting this now because I heard the same basic argument stated as fact. And I wondered, even if this was true (and it isn't), what point is there in bringing it up? But then I guess it's the same as almost any of the thousands of racial or social categorical dismissals that are brought up by people all the time. They all amount to the same thing:

Hey, did you hear about [ race X ]? Yes, because they have [ insert sucky trait, or positive ability that really hurts them in some way ] they aren't as good as we are. [ signal universal approval of how great speaker's race is ]

Got a light?

2011-10-23T12:21:00.002+09:00

It's interesting where help comes from sometimes.

This last trip I took to Hong Kong was mainly just about me wandering around areas I hadn't been before, trying new foods and meeting some new people.

The pics taken here are from around the West Kowloon area. I wandered here following a line of interesting looking housing projects, camera stores and eateries. I had just stopped to have a little cigar I'd bought along the way, and while I was smoking it by a city garbage can/ashtray, a guy who looked maybe Pakistani or Iranian asked me for a light.

I gave him my lighter, and he lit up a cool looking gold-tipped cigarette.

Anyway, he thanked me, making a comment about how I was "nicer than most..." I assume he was going to say either white people or Americans, but he trailed off and I didn't feel the need to press the issue.

After I walked off, I noticed he was heading my way. I went across the street, through an underpass, and over a foot bridge and saw he was still following me. He looked like he wanted to say something, but seemed hesitant.

So I stopped and turned to him, and finally he asked me where I was going. I told him I was headed to the West Kowloon waterfront, and he said that's what he thought, and that I was going the wrong way. If I wanted to get there I'd have to go back across the bridge and take a left there.

I thanked him, headed on my way, and he went back to the shop he'd originally walked out of.

This story shows 2 things. One is that even with a smartphone with maps (including a compass), I still am able to somehow get lost. Anyone who knows me can vouch for my complete lack of any sense of direction.

And the second thing is that you should try not to be a prick if you can. If someone wants a light and you have a lighter, give it to them. Hold doors open. Just be nice. And you never know, they might end up helping you out even when you had no idea you needed it.

Wait, it can make calls too? (WTF!!)

2011-10-20T21:30:00.001+09:00

As posted on gizmodo, Andy Rubin of Google had this to say about the iPhone 4S's ~~creepy~~ cool voice based assistant program, Siri:

"Your phone is a tool for communicating. You shouldn't be communicating with the phone; you should be communicating with somebody on the other side of the phone."

Wait? My smartphone is a phone, too! Crap, and I thought it was just for downloading fart apps, playing Angry Birds, and endless apps featuring nyan cat.

Yes, that's the 2nd time I posted this video, and I'm sure it won't be the last. (So ~~nyan~~ nya!)

Thoughts

2011-10-17T22:48:00.001+09:00

OK, so there has been some talk about a horrible incident caught on film: supposedly a 2 year old girl in China was hit and run over by a truck, then ignored, run over again, and finally helped after several witnesses passed by. Japan Today reports that doctors say the girl is in a coma now and will probably not survive. You can watch the video on YouTube but be warned, it is very graphic and disturbing. I am not posting a link here.

I am reminded of several similar incidents: people watching a New Yorker struggle and die of a stab wound while doing nothing, countless reports of women being raped in parks or public places while onlookers watch or try not to watch what's happening, and so on and so on. I was going to post a link to the few events I particularly remember, but in searching for articles I found too many others just like them, enough to turn your stomach.

What does all this mean? Is modern society total shit? Are we so concerned with our own safety or comfort that we consciously drown out cries for help? Or (more likely I think) are we so closed off from the outside world that we don't even hear their screams?

I don't know if I have anything to add to the discussion. I hope the girl lives.

Or better yet, I hope the video turns out to be a fake.

Just got listed!

2011-10-15T22:50:00.000+09:00

Any of my readers interested in other blogs about life in Japan and whatnot should check out the Japan Blog Directory. They have a lot of good blogs up there, including a wayward centipede looking for a new home. Tho to be honest me linking to that link which sends you back to me is a bit too meta for my usual tastes.

So here's a Japanese HP commercial, for no better reason than it involves AKB48 members in odd costumes.

Japan CM of the week - Bruce!

2011-10-12T21:29:00.000+09:00

Bruce Willis here, continuing the long running tradition of Hollywood actors appearing in amusing but somewhat confusing JP commercials.

AKB48 in Hong Kong! (plus more)

2011-10-12T20:58:00.000+09:00

I spent the weekend in Hong Kong, and man did I have a good time. OK I didn't really do anything, but I ate a lot, took a lot of pictures of the interesting buildings and sites in Hong Kong, and shopped like a 16 year old girl who just got to try out her dad's credit cards for the first time.

Anyway, here are a few pics I took while walking around town.

First:

Yes, Jesus loves you, especially if you sit down and try a latte. The number of almost Starbucks coffee shops in Asia always astounds me, tho this is the first time I'd seen one taking this particular sales pitch. But to be honest, the coffee was really cheap and really good.

Speaking of fake... Well, I don't know. These could be original characters I suppose... Found in downtown Kowloon right on the waterfront.

The last picture requires a close inspection to get the full effect:

Yup, there it is, the fabled official AKB48 Hong Kong shop and museum (?). Sure I went in. I had to. And they had gobs and gobs of AKB folders, stickers, puzzles and everything on sale for not too much.

What's more interesting, tho, was looking at the other shops around it. Look at the 3rd floor. Yep, that's a pic of a grandma holding a dildo. I guess the idea is that safe sex toys are fun for the whole family. And when you're done there you can shop for lingerie, and then get a coffee at the shop in back on the 1st floor.

So it's almost exactly the same as the area around the AKB shops in Akihabara.

Just a vending machine

2011-10-02T20:27:00.002+09:00

Nothing really special here. This little strip of old shops and fishing related stuff has been near my apartment for ages. I've always liked the feel of the area, like it's a part of an older Japan. I don't know how to put it. It's not nostalgic for me really, but it feels like it should be.

A little different angle.

You can get bait, rent a boat, or even get a boating license. And despite appearances most of these places are still in business.

Osama Bin ... Zombie? (NSFW)

2011-10-01T13:53:00.001+09:00

ZOMBINLADEN The Axis Of Evil Dead from Clement Deneux on Vimeo.

Um, this is probably the best fake trailer ever. Imagine a grindhouse zombie movie about Osama Bin Laden. That's all you need to know.

Click on the video to play it, but I'd say it's not safe for work and definitely gross as all get out.

... Man, this makes the zombie movie I made in college look like a piece of shit. Oh wait, it looked like shit even before this. Ah well.

Found it on the Animal, BTW.

Is that a mountain?

2011-09-24T22:02:00.000+09:00

Went for a little hike today. I walked around Ebisu, then headed north to Roppongi, and went up Roppongi Hills for the first time since it was just built. Man, I love the view from the top. Here I got a pic of Tokyo Tower on the right and the Sky Tree on the left.

This second pic is the view west just as the sun was going down a bit. I think I got a nice effect here with the sun blocked mostly by the clouds.

And you can even see way in the distance the highlands near Mt Fuji, as was pointed out to me and everyone around by a 20-something woman asking her preoccupied boyfriend, "Is that a mountain? Is it?" Yes, it is.

Japan cm of the week: Pungency (?)

2011-09-20T12:08:00.002+09:00

Um, what? I like Yu Aoi as much as the next guy - she seems like a decent person and is usually good in whatever she does, but this ad just makes me go "Huh?"

I mean, I understand the concept, but naming the tea itself that is like... Um, like making a baseball bat and calling it "hardness."

Uh, maybe?

The GRD IV (signal drool machine)

2011-09-18T14:08:00.002+09:00

This is a picture of the Ricoh GR Digital IV limited edition white model (from engadget Japan).

Wow, as a Ricoh ~~owner~~ super fanboy, I have to say I had to reach for a tissue when I first saw it.

The GRDIV has the same sensor and seemingly the same lens as the III - a 10 megapixel 1/1.7" CCD with a bright 28mm equiv. F1.9 fixed lens, but they've added in image stabilization, a 1.2 million dot RGBW screen that should produce brilliant picture renditions even in bright light (ﾉ￣□￣)ﾉ and it has faster autofocus and a new image processing engine.

All I can say is wow. Even tho I have the (higher spec) GXR, I still kinda want one.

The only problem is it's going to be pretty damn expensive. Bic Camera is taking pre-orders right now, for ¥79,800 for the base black model or ¥84,400 for the white model. Ouch. Of course Bic gives you a 10% discount with points, but that's pretty pricey for what is still a high-end point and shoot.

... My other thought tho, is that the GXR may be getting a new body unit as well. They could easily add the new autofocus assisting sensors and better screen from the GRDIV into it without having to update the lenses at all. One can hope...

And the love is gone

2011-09-18T13:51:00.001+09:00

There have been a lot of developments in the handheld world of late. Sony announced the release date and pricing of the PSP Vita (late 2011 in Japan, early 2012 in the US for ¥24,980/$249 for the base model or ¥29,980/$299 for the 3G model), and Nintendo announced the ~~strap-on~~ clip on extra analog pad for the 3DS...

Wait, what?

Yup, you heard it right. Nintendo is releasing a new 2nd analog nub that clicks into place to the right of the face buttons on the 3DS. Here's a description and picture if you haven't seen it yet.

And I'm officially done. Done with the 3DS and done with Nintendo (again).

And I'll be getting a PSP Vita.

You want to know why? Let me sum it up in a quick list.

The PSP Vita is a powerhouse for gaming: it has a massive processor, lots of screen real estate, built-in dual analogs, and more ways to control games than you can shake a stick at.
The Vita is also cheap IMO: for all those high-end specs it costs the same for the wifi model as what the 3DS cost at release. Hell, if you wanted you could get the 3G model instead of a smartphone. When Sony announced the Vita and what it could do, and then announced the price, it was as big of a shock to game makers as the price of the iPad.
The Vita is region-free. This is a huge one for me. I don't know why I convinced myself that the region locked 3DS would be OK to own. It isn't. Not being able to pick up any games at the store while I was on vacation in the US this summer really blew ass.

And finally, the big one: 4: the extra nub confirms (IMO) the existence of a newer, better 3DS.

There is no way Nintendo will force new 3DS users to buy that extra crap attachment forever. And yes, while I suppose I shouldn't be surprised as new models appear, this extra add-on tells me the newer model will be a bigger jump up than usual.

We know Sharp, the makers of the screen the 3DS uses, has already put out a bigger, higher-res 3D screen that I could see being thrown in. A new model could get more battery life, or whatever. All those upgrades would be fine, if not for the new nub.

Because when the new model comes out with said extra nub, you know more and more games will require it. Meaning 1st ed 3DS owners will have to walk around with this clip-on nub all the time, adding extra bulk to the already heavy-feeling 3DS, and adding around another piece that can be lost, requires space in a bag and needs its own batteries for Christ's sake.

Sigh. I figure I'll give my 3DS a few weeks for me to beat Starfox and one other game I want, and then I'm done.

Oh, and as a last, final note, I have to add that the fact that the extra analog attachment is coming out so soon, and with games that'll use it shortly after suggests that it's been planned for a while, maybe since before the 3DS even came out, which also suggests that Nintendo may already have the 3DSi (or Lite or whatever) made, and only released the 1st model because they wanted a head-start over Sony.

9/11 - the day we committed national suicide?

2011-09-12T10:31:00.001+09:00

Chris Hedges has an article up at truthdig.com where he discusses the aftermath, what 9/11 meant - a tragic loss of life and a horrible event - and what it was turned into later, how the powers that be used the images of towers falling and planes crashing into them to justify wars and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocents.

It didn't have to happen like this. We had the support and sympathy of the world after 9/11. But we squandered it out of rage, and out of wanting to get quick (unthinking) revenge. He states: "The attacks turned us into monsters, grotesque ghouls, sadists and killers who drop bombs on village children and waterboard those we kidnap, strip of their rights and hold for years without due process."

After the article, there is a long comments section that is worth reading. I think a commenter summed up the US's reaction to 9/11 better than anything I've seen anywhere else. Prisnersdilema writes:

Chris Hedges correctly understands that our response to 911 was to commit national suicide. Suddenly faced with a situation in which the delusions we live by could not be used adapt, we simply chose oblivion. Yes, the elite would like to nationalize our feelings. To keep us looking outwardly instead of within. Using, that pretext to destroy, this country by turning it into a flag waving police state. While advancing the corporate destruction of the lives of every American citizen. They do not have the ability to fix this country, because it cannot be fixed as long as their evil selves are in charge, they are the problem. We are ruled by madness, and madmen. Look what they have done to us. There can be only one result as long as they remain in control.

Is there a way to put an end to the madness? Or are we going to steamroll ahead, diving into oblivion and ignorance happily so that we don't have to look at reality, don't have to see that the horrors of suicide bombings in the Middle East, Bali, London and elsewhere, while not perpetrated by our personal actions, came to fruition in part because of actions we condone with our silence?

Click here to read Hedges' full article.

The Legacy of 9/11 - Does fear conquer all?

2011-09-11T13:33:00.003+09:00

What do you think of when you think of September 11th? Where were you when the towers were hit, when they fell down, and were no more?

I was in my sister's place. I had been out late the night before and got a call from my girlfriend in Japan. She franticly told me to turn on the TV.

So I did, and sat transfixed in front of the screen for the rest of the day.

It was a horrible day. I still got weepy discussing the events a year later with friends when I was back in Japan. In early September of 2012 me and two other Americans sat in silence, each with a beer in our hands, knowing we couldn't say anything without breaking down in tears.

As time has gone on the pain has gotten less of course. The people who died were strangers. It was a horrible incident that changed the world, but it was far away from me, and now is far enough away in time to give some perspective.

But what about the legacy of 9/11? What has it left us? What have we learned?

Barak Obama said in his inauguration speech that America had "chosen hope over fear." Maybe we did choose hope in November when we voted him in, but look around now. Look at the world of 2011. Look at the changes to our society.

It appears to me that we chose fear.

We allow our leaders to send young soldiers to war, thinking we may be able to stop a madman with wmd's - never mind the fact that it was still an illegal war of aggression, even if he had had stacks of bombs just waiting to be shot off.

We allow schools, afraid of random shootings and afraid of their own students, to suspend or expel students for drawing pictures of weapons. Zero tolerance laws make schools into prisons for kids, but I guess that's just training for when many youths will later be sentenced to real time for minor drug violations that later lead to worse punishment under harsher and harsher laws.

And we allow cops many states to stop and question people doing "suspicious acts" like taking pics of buildings with no aesthetic value, or writing notes on a notepad. What ever happened to good old fashioned police work, gathering evidence, relying on facts rather than hunches and racial profiling?

We as a society have chosen safety from unseen boogiemen instead of freedom.

We allow all kinds of humiliations when boarding planes, all under the idea that it may help stop a terrorist - even though everything from checking shoes to the porno backscatter scanner are all just reactions to failed terrorist plots. How many humiliations will we put up in the name of "safety?" Apparently a lot. And believe you me, I know I feel a lot safer after having a tired, sweaty guy examining my balls before I get on a plane. But what if a terrorist puts a remote control bomb in their ass? Will we then gladly bend over and spread em while waiting in line? Maybe they'll let me hum a k-pop tune while said guy puts his hairy knuckles into my ass.

OK, I'm getting a little gross and a bit long winded. My point is, I guess, is that if we learn anything from the 9/11 attack and the aftermath, it has to include the lesson that life is short. There are bad people out there, but is it OK to let fear of the bad men dictate (and possibly ruin) your life? I hope the answer is no. I hope we can put this in the past, try to build a world that doesn't breed terrorists, and return to some state of sanity.

Flowers and Boats in Kisarazu

2011-09-08T18:20:00.003+09:00

I had a chance to take a day trip down to Kisarazu, on the south end of Chiba. The harbor is nice there, very clean but not like some of the sterile, touristy ports in around Tokyo. You could see fishing boats coming and going all the time, and a lot of locals fishing along the shore.

Here is a pic of two ships anchored there for servicing.

The city is also pretty nice. I had sashimi at a little fish restaurant, wandered around town and took a bunch of pics. I also ran into a family of semi-stray cats living on a little island. It was kinda funny. While I was petting one of the little cats in the bunch I saw its father come trotting up with something in his mouth. I thought it was grass at first, but when he spat it out I could see it was a huge moth.

The mother cat walks up to him, they exchange sniffs, and she picks up the bounty in her mouth to take it to a group of 3 kittens that had been hiding in the bushes. The father had a look that almost said, "Wait, what just happened here?" when she walked off with his find, but didn't seem to bothered by it.

Oh, and here's a pic of flowers I saw growing along the way south from the station. Yes, no cat pics on this blog... today anyway.

Oh, btw, I'm not sure exactly why but both of these pics look a lot better when you click on them and then zoom in to full size... Must be something in the compression it's using when I uploaded them.

Bye bye cable?

2011-09-01T18:11:00.002+09:00

Hulu is up and running in Japan.

Yes, the streaming TV/movie service that has tons and tons of shows to watch on demand from your computer.

They even got the iPad app up and running on the Japanese iTunes store, and it seems to work smoothly.

Why is this a big deal, when there are already a lot of cable TV providers that give access to almost the same content?

1. You can view any video they have on your computer, iPad, iPhone and many android devices, as long as you have an internet connection.

2. Finding movies and TV shows is insanely simple - no more cumbersome and slow set top TV boxes to deal with. You can also save shows to watch later to your queue and then easily find them on any device you have set to use the service.

3. It's all very easy to see and arrange things by language. I have seen and used a lot of video sites, from movie rentals off of iTunes to sites like gyao and cable provided on-demand, and it's not always easy to find the show you want, and even if you do find the right show they sometimes inexplicably have the movie you wanted only available in a low-res format, or only dubbed in Japanese. From what I've seen on Hulu most shows and movies are viewable with or without subtitles and are all shown in the same (what seems to be high) resolution. I'm watching Passenger 57 while I type this and it says it's playing in 480p but it looks better than when I watched it streamed from my cable box a few weeks ago (yes, I am a Wesley Snipes superfan).

Well, the one down side is Hulu is a pay site. You have to sign up and will be billed per month. But compared to a lot of cable deals and video rental services, it feels like a huge bargain.

And I guess the other down side is that it doesn't have a ton of TV shows... yet (I hope), but the movie selection seems at least as good as the pay-per-view my cable offers, just minus new releases.

So go to the site, read up on it, and make the decision. Personally, I'll probably keep my basic cable to watch new shows, and use Hulu for older ones and movies, but I could easily see someone making the jump to all streaming video because of this.

New GXR firmware!!

2011-08-31T18:45:00.003+09:00

Well, isn't this a nice little present. Ricoh has posted another firmware update for the GXR, and it adds new settings for ISO, better manual focus options and assistance, and new flash modes.

Way cool.

Here's a link to the download (for Asia/Pacific, check the region box to switch to your region, just in case).

Once again proving Ricoh is the best camera company out there, because they continuously update their cameras to give better and newer features, rather than force you to buy a new model every 6 months.

Mystery Man at Fukushima Reactor

2011-08-31T11:07:00.003+09:00

This is a video clip of a strange guy wearing work clothes at the Fukushima plant. He points at the screen from a distance, and reads something for around 20 min, then comes closer to point again at the camera.

All this, of course, in an area with (most likely) heavy levels of radiation around him. As the Tepco official states, he seems to be a nuclear plant worker, but as he doesn't have any name tags on it's probably impossible to tell who he is.

OK, um, that's kinda scary.

Tho I have to applaud Morning Bird for airing this strange video.

The Big Easy

2011-08-28T15:54:00.006+09:00

That's right, while the Centipede was home in the US he went on a little trip. OK, not a little trip, he drove down most of the length of the Mississippi to New Orleans. It was a long drive, but there was a lot of neat stuff to see along the way, especially in the Big Easy.

Anyway, here are a few pics I took while I was there. People who've been to New Orleans will recognize these as being taken on Bourbon Street, the premier spot in the city for tourists to get drunk on hand grenades (a local drink I'm pretty sure that's made with Everclear), get drunk on beer, and buy somewhat overpriced souvenirs.

While drunk.

The funny thing, tho, is that it didn't feel much like other tourist traps do. It was nice. The people were cool, the food was good and only modestly overpriced - all in all a great time. Maybe that's why my ex-roommate from college has lived there for so long. Louisiana is a nice state, and the openness and friendliness there was so nice, and it's all in a non-in your face, non-irritating, non-scary way. Heck, even the bums there seemed friendly and at least 30% less likely to stab you than where I'm from.

BTW it was really cool seeing him (my roomie) after so long. He also recommends you go eat at Elizabeth's, well or at least he recommended it to me and I'm repeating the info here. Best mashed potatoes I've ever had, period, and the food and drink selection overall is fantastic. Here's a map there, if you're interested. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Oh, and do as the sign says and drink Regal beer!! Or some other beer will work, too.

The erosion of freedom, without commentary or protest

2011-08-24T19:13:00.003+09:00

I just got back from the US, where I took a long trip down the Mississippi River from Davenport to New Orleans. I'll post more about that later, and more pics I took, but I wanted to comment first on a (terrifying IMO) new trend in the US.

As reported on animal, and at the Long Beach Post, it is now policy for Long Beach, CA police officers to detain photographers for taking pictures "with no apparent esthetic value," as stated by Police Chief Jim McDonnell. Note: this doesn't mean they'll be arrested, just questioned.

But over what, and to serve what purpose?

On my long trip I took a lot of pics of crap - an abandoned school (at the top), or ruined houses, little dumpy stores or whatever. I took pictures of relatively plain churches because the clouds were nice, or a grain loader (below).

Do any of these scenes merit a picture? I thought so. Which means they have some value, to me at least.

But what the hell gives any city the right to interfere with my right to take pictures of things in public places?

The Long Beach policy apparently is in line with a LA Special Order (number 11), detailing how officers should make Suspicious Activity Reports in order to preempt terrorist acts. The order recommends officers should make note of people doing such suspicious activity as "using binoculars or cameras, tak(ing) measurements, or draw(ing) diagrams," along with a huge list of activities, some obviously suspicious, others very much open to debate.

Yes, monitoring suspicious individuals should be a part of any trained law enforcement officer's job, but it can go too far. Why should I have to explain why I'm taking a picture of a burned out trailer? Or a nuclear power plant? Or a cop patrolling on a horse? (all things I've taken pictures of recently) Maybe my friend died in the fire, or I'm a budding miniature builder, or really dig horses. What the hell does it matter to anyone? Or even better, even if it does matter to someone, no one should have the right to detain me to question me about it.

Even worse, though, are laws like ones in Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, and other places making it illegal to video tape an on-duty police officer. As they state on gizmodo, most of these states allow an exception for public places where no privacy can be expected, but Illinois does not, and it seems that often times this exception is ignored. Meaning that if you see a cop beating up someone for talking back you can be arrested for filming the cop.

... Or (in a more crazy scenario), you could be arrested for accidentally filming a cop as you pan your cam over a city scene. Yeah, this probably won't happen, but with laws like these in place, the police could choose to arrest you in that case, since the cops being filmed hadn't given you permission.

And all this is just a continuation of the erosion of our freedoms and rights, all in the name of protecting us from terrorism. And most people are happily willing to comply.

Pentax Q felt up, liked it a little

2011-08-05T09:07:00.003+09:00

In Bic Camera the other night, much to my surprise they had (non-functioning) display models of the Pentax Q!!

I have 2 comments about the Q. Assuming this is the real size and weight of the finished unit, I have to say the Q is

1: Built like a tank. For a camera it's size the Q has some real heft to it. Feels solid and durable. Not heavy so much, but you'll definitely notice it.

2: Tiny. As you can see in the pic, the Q is freakishly slim. Next to the K-r it looks like a toy. But put it next to most point and shoots and it's still slim. The lenses, however, aren't. OK, they aren't huge, but the tube of the lens sticking out that much suggests that the Q may not be the easiest camera to pocket. Probably a lot less pocketable than a gf3, even tho the form suggests it's smaller.

Could be interesting. Tho the price tag (listed as 69-89,000 yen, WTF?) and sensor (1/2.3") still make me lean towards saying it will be a silly gimmick at best.

Watch Matt Damon defend teachers

2011-08-04T16:02:00.001+09:00

As a teacher, I had to post this video (found on Gawker). Enjoy.

The love is over - my sort of review of the 3DS and why (I think) it's a failure

2011-07-30T14:26:00.004+09:00

I didn't get a 3DS at launch. I was skeptical at first, but after playing demos of SFIV and Dynasty Warriors, I decided I had to have one.

So was it worth it? Could the 3DS be the next best portable?

In a word: no.

For people wondering, I decided to wait to write up a review of the 3DS until after the web browser and other main features (like the online download store) were all up and in place, and the machine had a little time to mature.

OK first of all, I'd like to address the machine itself. It's a nice looking slab of plastic with a decent sized top screen, and an oddly smaller bottom screen that feels undersized and strange, but I think that is more of a relic of the low resolution for the touch screen than it's actual size. Button placement is good, and controls are excellent. I have to say I haven't had this easy of a time controlling games on a portable system since the Gameboy Advance SP.

Gaming on the machine is fun, especially games that use a button-heavy mechanic, like Dead or Alive Dimensions or Dynasty Warriors, but games that require precise directional input (Street Fighter) suffer a little from the control pad.

Going online with the machine is also decent. The web browser works, mostly. Shopping in the store is also relatively painless (tho slow). Using the other features of the 3DS - the camera, donloaded TV shows, and other little tidbits and mini-games you get by using AR cards - are all OK at best tho gimmicky at times. For example, the AR games that use the camera to play mini-games that interact with the real world are fun once or twice, but IMO work better as a way to show off the 3DS to friends than to actually do for fun.

But after a day or so of use, you start to notice the 4 main flaws of the system, things that IMO spelled doom right from the start.

1: Battery life. This has been talked at all over online, but I think it's not just the terrible battery of the system that's a problem. It's the charging time. My 3DS gets 3ish hours on a charge, then takes a bit more than that, around 3 1/2 to 4 hours to charge. This is because the charger they use isn't matched to the power of the battery, and is a horrible mistake IMO. Hell, my iPad, which I get days of use out of, takes around the same time to charge.

2: Software support. There just aren't enough games. This has been a problem in the past for some Nintendo systems, and the trend seems to be repeating itself, with many major games even being cancelled. How can you get people to buy (and keep) a machine when you don't give them new games?

3: The size. The 3DS, at 230g, feels heavy. Not uber heavy, but heavy enough to be noticeable. This isn't a big burden, but with the horrendous battery life it doesn't feel justified, especially when compared to newer smartphones that weigh a lot less, or even the PSP which comes in at only 189g.

4: The half-assed feel. I'm sorry if you don't agree, but the 3DS feels kind of like a piece of crap. And this is the one that weirds me out the most, because in the past, Nintendo handhelds all felt sturdy, rugged and durable. The 3DS, however... doesn't. Maybe it's the tri-tone plastic casing, or the thinness in the (unnecessarily large) area around the top screen; the 3Ds just doesn't feel like a high quality product.

And this cheap feel is further exaggerated by some of the half-assed feeling aspects of the system, whether it be the browser (which feels like something you'd find on a PDA from 10 years ago), the store (slow to navigate around and even slower to download from), or the system itself, which always has a long-feeling pause when you start, end, or navigate between games. And I know the cause - the 3DS is using a very slow processor with low memory, compared to the super quick cores being put into new phones.

Maybe the 3DS's recently announced price cut will help sell more units. It also may be a signal that a new, souped up 3DS Lite is in the works. But none of these things changes the machine I have now, and seldom carry with me anymore. Which is too bad, since I really like playing games on it. It's just the battery life and weight make me tend to leave it at home.

Anyway, I'm rambling now, so I'll end this post. Let's just say I really hope Nintendo has something up its sleeve (like say, a firmware update that improves battery life, please!!) that helps out.

Have you watched this? (WTF)

2011-07-30T14:16:00.002+09:00

This is the Nyan Cat, possibly the most horribly cute/annoying thing ever.

Watch, and be hypnotized/horrified.

I see this video and am reminded of a line from Hindu scripture:

Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.

OK, maybe that's a little bit of an overstatement...

Khaaaannnn!!!

2011-07-27T14:42:00.001+09:00

Proving once again that William Shatner is the greatest entertainer of all time.

Japan (annoying) cm of the week

2011-07-25T12:45:00.002+09:00

This commercial for the summer jumbo lotto in Japan has been running for a few weeks, and is IMO the most annoying thing I've ever seen. Watch it and you'll cry tears of blood. See it come on 3 times during the same half hour program and you'll want to bang your head against a nail sticking out of the wall.

BTW the actor there is Toshiyuki Nishida, possibly the most obnoxiously over-exposed, under-talented actor in Japan.

OK, maybe he was good in his older films, or the Tsuribaka Nisshi series, but lately he mostly appears as an important minor role on cop dramas to ruin any tension the series has built up to that point.

A View From Above

2011-07-24T16:55:00.010+09:00

I took a trip with some coworkers to Yokohama yesterday. Man, what a beautiful day it was. In addition to killer good Chinese food and a lot of beer we had on a cruise around the harbor, we got a chance to go up in the Landmark Tower. And the view was incredible. Take a look at some of the pics I took.

More views of the harbor and ships going around. The next pic is looking SW from the city. yes, you can see Mt. Fuji in the distance (click on the image to see it enlarged).

I usually prefer wide-angle shots, but how often can you see Fuji from this far away? So I had to clip on my p10 zoom unit and take a few shots with it. I love how the very tip of the mountain is concealed by cloud cover.

That's all for now. What a nice little trip.

OK, not quite. Here's 1 last pic of Fuji, zoomed in as far as I can go.

Almost looks like a painting.

The unintentional road

2011-07-17T11:37:00.002+09:00

Yesterday was a strange day.

I originally was planning on getting out of the area, to beat the heat and see some place I've never seen before. So I head north on the Tobu line up to Omiya in Saitama. My original aim was to then jump on the Shinkansen and go onward to Nagano.

But at Omiya Station I had this odd feeling, like I should just stop here. So I wandered around the city, which is a bit bigger than I'd expected.

I didn't find a room, so the trip turned into just a day jaunt. But I did get to see a lot of the central area of the city, at least. And I guess Omiya seems nice. It's almost like Shinjuku around the station, with some chunks of big buildings on the one side, and a bit more shitamachi (in a good, but somehow even too sleazy for me kinda way) on the other.

But there's only so much you can do in a city where you have no idea what's around or what's going on, and with no rooms in the area for a reasonable price, I decided to head home and head to a bar I've been going to for ages.

And I find the bartender I know and usually talk to is gone, but I make friends with the new guy and some regular customers I've never seen but have also been going there for ages. Strange.

It was a good day, but a long one, and now I need a break from my (non) vacation.

End of pointless post. You are now allowed to go back to your regular life, as I will mine.

Lake Teganuma, July 2011

2011-07-10T22:13:00.007+09:00

Today I took a hike around Teganuma. Man, was it beautiful today. Yes, it was freakishly hot, but the scenery was just gorgeous, and the weather wasn't that bad in the shade along the lake.

There pic above is a fish hatchery (or whatever you call them) that I think allows you to fish there certain times a year.

And some flowers along the walkway. The area is really nice if you have time to walk around and want a peaceful place to enjoy nature, and the random stray cat or two. This guy was really friendly.

Man, I love a nice, peaceful cat like that who just wants attention.

And yes, this means this blog, too, has been taken over by the random feline pic.

Anyway, if anyone wants to find this area, walk South from Abiko station until you hit the end of the road, and there you are. Walk into the park, and then follow the path around the lake going East. It really is a nice walk (or bike ride), and there are frequent public restrooms, benches and markers telling you just how far you've gone.

A presence I haven't felt since...

2011-07-09T13:43:00.010+09:00

Talk about unexpected walks down memory lane. The other night I wandered out to Tokyo, mainly to kill time and maybe buy a new video game. On the way to Akihabara, tho, I accidentally missed the Kita Senju stop, so as I get in to Nippori I decide that I might try heading in to Shinjuku. Yes, I go there from time to time, but rarely at night these days. And checking google maps for Mexican food, I found a little restaurant near the West Exit, so I headed there.

What I found was a place I hadn't seen in years. A place I thought was gone.

When I first got to Japan, almost exactly 13 years ago, I stayed at the Keio Hotel for a seminar. It was mainly a get to know you thing, so I barely remember it at all, but the night after that has been burned into my mind forever.

Besides spending time at an interesting pay up front night club, eating Chinese at a dive restaurant and being told I don't look very American, the 3rd most memorable part of that evening was the night market.

Wandering around the West side of Shinjuku (right by the restaurant I found on the map), I found a warren of tiny electronics shops selling everything I could imagine. It was crazy, very random and not at all what I'd expected to find in Japan. Hawkers sold cellphones like you'd expect them to push crap at a flea market, or like they still sell fish in Ameyoko.

I loved it. It was a part of the energy of the city that I'd been looking for without ever realizing it. And those first few nights, and finding other places like that, were what turned Japan from being a vacation spot into the home I'd always wanted.

A few years later I went back to find the night market and had been dismayed to see it was gone. Or so I thought. The real problem was my sense of direction and knowledge of the area.

OK so even now the area itself is a bit more mundane - no one bellowing about cellphones (since now there's no reason to because everyone buys theirs on 2 year contracts), but it's still here.

These last 2 pics? Nothing spectacular, just a pic I took of the Mode Gakuen building and a nice little dead-end street not 2 blocks from the market area.

Panasonic for the win (maybe)

2011-07-09T10:32:00.003+09:00

Here's a video comparison of the Panasonic G3 to the Samsung NX11 (click the links to see tech details), two similar cameras competing in the sub-SLR range.

Anyway, I had a chance to try out a G3, along with its smaller cousin, the GF3 last night at a camera shop in Shinjuku.

And I have to say I'm impressed with both. The G3 is a nice piece of equipment, easy to hold, easy to use, and it seemed to have a snappy response and good, easy to use manual controls.

The GF3 was also very nice. Yes, it doesn't have the built-in viewfinder of the G3, but it passed the one test I thought it would fail at: easy to use in manual mode. While it lacks the buttons and viewfinder of the G3, it's incredibly small - a lot smaller with the 14mm pancake lens on it than my GXR (both with an equiv range of 28mm). The GF3's somewhat odd rubbery design also makes it a lot easier to hold on to IMO than some other tiny high end cameras like the Sony NEX line.

Anyway, good on Panasonic for making real upgrades to their high and low end micro four-thirds cams.

Pink is the new... green?

2011-07-04T22:37:00.005+09:00

Ok, what's wrong with this picture? Or the one below. Zoom in a little and it's unmistakable: the plants here are pink. In the weeks and months since the 3.11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster I've seen discolorations on bushes, shrubs, trees and flowers. The most common would be a reddening of leaves that look relatively normal - if it was late November.

But it's not November here. It's early July. And not all the plants I've seen have taken on the rust red color I talked about before.

Some have a whitish hue, like the color was sapped out of them.

Others have areas of green intermixed into the white and black spots, and look more like insect damage than anything. Which, who knows, it probably is insect damage, or leaked crap from someone's malfunctioning dryer, polluting the land.

And then here you have pink.

Is the radiation level around these pink plants high? No it isn't, not really. Still relatively low, tho I wouldn't sprinkle any of these pink delicacies on a salad.

But it is higher than the rocks and dirt - and normal looking greenery. Higher usually by a factor of x2 or a bit more. I don't want to post exact readings because I know my Geiger counter isn't so accurate at these low levels. But the levels are elevated, and in a repeatably measurable way.

More evidence that there has been some spread of radiation around the Kanto area, and that even low levels can affect the living world there.

Gross cm of the week

2011-07-03T14:17:00.005+09:00

Biore, makers of beauty and health products, has had the most bizarre ad running in Japan for quite a while.

It's a commercial for their sarasara powder sheet, kinda like a tissue that's designed to suck up sweat and clean you off.

The product itself isn't a bad idea. Heck, I could definitely see someone packing them all the time just in case. They could be really nice to have around for when you're planning on working out, but might not have time to take a shower afterwards. In all honesty I wouldn't mind having them after walking to work, just to wipe my pits down. Fine.

But the ads they put on in Japan (click here to watch one), show a girl getting up in the morning, covered in sweat. She reaches up, grabs one of the biore sheets, and goes to town. And the next shot is of her happily talking to friends (or heading off to work or wherever, depending on the cm), clean and spiffy looking.

OK, fine, but wouldn't it be a lot easier to... um, I don't know... take a shower?

I don't know, just saying...

Japan cm of the week Umeshu

2011-07-01T18:15:00.001+09:00

Definitely the best commercial I've seen in ages involving alcohol and random cat ears.

Ricoh getting Pentax!

2011-07-01T17:01:00.004+09:00

As reported on engadget, Ricoh (makers of my personal choice for photography), are acquiring Pentax from Hoya, in what is IMO a perfect pairing, because both Ricoh and Pentax make cameras for people who want to take pictures, not brag about numbers of dials and stupid extra features. Ricoh and Pentax also are nice in that they don't seem to specifically leave out features of their low-end models just so you buy a more expensive model - which seems to be par for the course for most DSLR makers.

I can only hope this results in what I've been screaming for since I picked up my GXR, a K-mount sensor package; then you could use the uber-tiny pancake lenses Pentax makes in a wide variety of focal lengths on the small, sturdy and easy to use GXR body. Man, makes me drool just thinking about it.

Go Ricoh!

BTW the pic was one I took a little while ago with my GXR + the ASP-C A12 28mm lens.

Duh - the myth of daylight savings

2011-06-29T18:17:00.001+09:00

Well well well.

On TV Asahi right now they're talking about the lack of energy savings from Japan's new summer time policy - a new step put in place last month by a bunch of businesses in Tokyo where they start an hour early and make sure people don't do any overtime. The obvious idea being to save energy by letting these companies shut down their AC earlier than usual.

But is it really helping?

Nope.

In fact, they're seeing as much as 4% more energy being used than otherwise, because people getting off earlier go home...

... to a boiling hot apartment still in the midst of the hottest part of the day. So they turn on their AC, relax, do unfinished business on their computer, and watch tv.

So just like I've been saying about America's faulty logic behind daylight savings, Japan's first steps in that direction are proving to be less helpful than they'd hoped.

Kinda proves why daylight savings is still going on in the US - it does save energy and money for employers. But that cost (and in this case more) is just shifted onto the workers.

And in Japan, where the point right now isn't to save money but to save energy, they need to nip this bs policy in the bud quickly.

A sign of the times?

2011-06-27T18:25:00.001+09:00

After work today I decided to walk across town to the big shopping center. As I was leaving a park on the way there, I walk past 2 little girls playing in the street, and one of them happens to be a girl I used to teach at an elementary school in the area.

She notices me and pauses for a second, obviously thinking about saying something but not sure what to say.

So she goes with, "Yo!"

Yo? Ok, I guess that's certainly more original than the usual "Hello." I give her a Yo back, we wave, and as I walk away she yells out "Bye!" from down the street. Cute.

Then while I sit in the food court having some takoyaki, I see 2 serious looking 12 year olds talking about radiation in Japan.

Reminds me of... myself, actually.

Calling out the ones you love

2011-06-25T10:58:00.003+09:00

You know, I've written a lot about racism I've experienced in Japan on this blog. And I have experienced a lot of racism here.

At times it's been very direct, like the time an old guy outside of Kashiwa station told me and the two guys with me at the time to go home, and was almost violent as he screamed racial epithets at us in Japanese and English.

Other times, tho, it's a lot more subtle - being followed around in a store like a criminal who needs to be kept on watch, being asked if it's true that Americans don't bathe much, or hearing the sound of a car door locking as I walk by. Some comments like the bathing issue may not have a shred of intended malice, but it doesn't matter.

Racism is just like sexual harassment: it doesn't matter how you meant it to sound, the listener determines if it's racism by the twinge of disgust, fear, or induced shame they feel when you say the comment.

I've also witnessed a ton of racism directed towards Chinese and Koreans here, probably a lot more than racism directed at me or Westerners in general, and usually a lot more mean spirited and overt. Whether it be referring to a cheap camera as a baka-chon (baka for stupid, chon as a slang for Koreans - implying the camera is so simple even a Korean could use it), or whole TV shows directed to showing arrests of illegal Chinese immigrants (usually visa overstayers who have committed no actual crimes), racism towards other Asians in Japan comes out frequently, and often from people you'd think should know better.

But one thing I've never directly addressed is the racism that I want to stamp out most - racism within my own family.

I've always hoped that my experiences in Japan would serve as a window into the other side of racism. I've hoped that by talking openly about how blatantly stupid the racism I've experienced is, I could get people to re-examine their own thought patterns and beliefs, and maybe help them realize that some of the things they say are racist, and that the racist jokes they casually make at dinner are not funny, and don't appeal to me or anyone who is actually using their brain.

Has it worked?

I don't think so. I still receive forwarded racist joke mails from family members. I still hear anti-Japanese racist comments at family dinners from time to time.

Do comments like that hurt me, specifically? Yes, I think they do. Because the attitudes those comments foster hurts us all.

I'm not trying to attack certain people. And I'm not saying I hate them, or that I think they're stupid.

I just want people to take a hard look at things they say, even in jest, and ask themselves - is this really funny? Or is it just hateful? Or an easier question: would I make this joke if there was a black/Chinese/Jewish/Hispanic person sitting next to me?

If the answer is no, then don't make the joke. Ever.

And maybe when people stop making those stupid jokes, maybe they can look at other racist attitudes and realize the hatred in them, and maybe then change their own minds about race.

I'm not trying to change the world, or end racism completely. I know that's impossible for one person to do. But I am hoping to end it in my family.

BTW I was inspired to write this by reading a good post at Colorlines. Check it out here, and read more of their articles.

The River

2011-06-19T20:57:00.002+09:00

Today I went for a little hike, from Shinjuku to Ikebukuro. I went out the East exit, into the sleaziest part of Tokyo (Kabukicho), and headed north past Seibu Shinjuku station. From there things get to being more and more run down until you get to a collection of Korean restaurants and K-Pop/Drama themed shops. I knew it existed but I'd never been there before. So I had some good Korean for lunch, and kept going.

This is a pic I took of the river right by Takadanobaba. I lightened the pic a little but that's all.

All in all a good hike and got to try some good food along the way.

Get this album now! - Chiaki Kuriyama's Circus

2011-06-19T16:14:00.004+09:00

Today I picked up Chiaki Kuriyama's first full length CD, Circus. Some of you might recognize her from Kill Bill or Battle Royale, as a frequently stabby actress. But she also does a lot of other stuff, including a lot of TV commercials, fashion shoots, and is trying her hand at singing.

My first thought when I heard she was doing a CD was WTF?? Can she even sing?

But I watched this video, (The Creamy Season おいしい季節) listened to a few more of her songs, and I decided to pick it up.

And man, is this a good debut album. At times she sounds like she's trying to do early Shiina Ringo, which isn't surprising since Shiina wrote 2 songs on the CD and her band, Tokyo Jihen did a lot of musical work, but I think this early Shiina imitation is a good thing.

Anyway, if you have any interest in real Japanese rock, watch the video above, watch more, and then buy the album. It is powerful and funny at times, and is a good listen from start to finish.

And while you're at it, watch Tokyo Jihen's 3 Min. Great song.

Wait, Fukushima part 2 (?)

2011-06-18T14:20:00.004+09:00

As reported on Dark Politricks, the nuclear power plant in Fort Calhoun, Nebraska, suffered some flooding around it and by June 14th was surrounded by water. There was also an electrical fire in in a switcher room that released some poisonous gas, but it appears to be stable now, and there appears to be no risk that the plant could go Fukushima.

While cnn has touched on the plant's fire and flooding (even Fox News did a better job), no mention is made of the nuclear material stored in the fuel pool there. Watch this video to get more info.

While yes, bits of the video seem to be overblowing things a lot, Arnie Gundersen, the commentator they interviewed from Fairewinds Associates, makes some good points, and he is an expert who could tell there was some kind of a meltdown at Fukushima long before it was officially made public.

I hope things stay stable in Nebraska, but it all makes me think more and more that living on this turbulent planet makes something as volatile as nuclear energy just too much of a risk to ever make it worthwhile.

It also makes me wonder if we didn't just pass the expiration date of all these nuke plants...

Winning hearts and minds

2011-06-18T14:01:00.004+09:00

I was going to make this post a rant, but inadvertently had my mind changed.

Last night I missed Music Station, the Friday night music program that's been on the air in Japan at least as long as I've been here, and that features live performances by chart topping artists each week.

So I go on twitter this morning to see what acts I missed, and I run into a tweet by a guy I used to follow, stating how he is sick of seeing all the Koreans on M Sta (as Music Station is frequently abbreviated), and how he wonders why they're even here, since they "all hate Japan anyway."

I'm like "What the fuck?"

So I search around on twitter, expecting to see more of the same racist bullshit.

But happily, I don't. In fact, I find an outpouring of support for Kara, Girls Generation, Beast, and all the other K-Pop singers that are popular in Japan right now. It's surprising but also very refreshing, and the emotion and opinions stated feel a lot more real and honest than the K-drama boom of a few years ago (which was more of a Bae Yong Joon boom than anything).

I heard a tweeter saying how she was happy to see Kara on a TV show this morning after seeing them perform last night, but was hoping they weren't pushing themselves too hard. And other tweets like this.

Yes it's only temporary. People will forget the craze and find something else next month or next week.

But it's emotion like this - finding someone from a different culture that you can like, feel sympathy for, and want to be like - that helps end stupid racism and open people up.

And if the K-Pop boom helps bring more of this openness for Korea to Japan then I say let it keep going.

Japan CM of the week, Focus Your Love

2011-06-12T19:15:00.004+09:00

The new Sony NEX 3C commercial is out, featuring the always charming Keiko Kitagawa (北川景子). I'm posting this cm because it's actually kind of nice, and seems to show off the features of the new Sony well. If it does take good pics (unlike last year's NEX 3 and 5, which were IMO flawed), it could be a serious contender for best small-ish big sensor camera.

BTW, if you want to see more of her, check out this cm she made a while ago, (or this one, looking pretty hot), or watch her in various dramas and movies. Even when she doesn't have a big role she always dominates your attention when she's on screen.

Dimming

2011-06-09T16:25:00.004+09:00

I think this turned out nicely. This is straight out of my camera with no editing. Man, the sky was gorgeous last night.

[ Ricoh GXR 28mm, f7.1, 1/100 shutter, ISO 200 ]

And now for your daily radiation dose

2011-06-08T18:47:00.001+09:00

Yesterday and today, walking around Abiko and northern Chiba, the levels seem rather low. Or I guess I should say normal - around 0.10-0.14 uSv/hr in most places.

So what does this mean? The area I'm in, for the most part is radiation free. Even at 0.20 per hour for a whole year would give you a lower dose than most experts say is the global average. More on that later.

But there are pockets of higher levels here and there. I find a decaying bush and check under it - I find the level shoots up to the still minor dose of 0.20/hr. I check a dying fern - here it's 0.26/hr. And I check some flowers and get 0.20. All low levels of radiation (assuming there's no alpha radiation which my Geiger counter won't detect).

But try telling that to the wilted, discolored plants. Yes, it might be normal. It might be bugs. But I don't think so.

This year I've seen more sickly, unhealthy looking shrubs than ever here, and most of them have a similar red hue. Japan has a richness of greenery to put Ireland to shame, normally, but something feels off this year. And most times (8 out of 10 I'd say) when I find a discolored bush, patch of grass or tree I also find a (slightly) elevated radiation reading.

It's not everywhere, but there's enough of it that you do notice.

I'll post pics later.

[ Note: I'm not saying there's fallout everywhere, but I have seen a lot of discolored plants, and a big portion of them read higher than the standard dose of background radiation. ]

Peace and Disorder, Beauty and Decay (Part 1)

2011-06-07T22:58:00.016+09:00

A ride through the city, greenery, fresh and alive.

Something's not quite right, not the same.

Another patch here.

And here.

And again here.

Beautiful flowers growing.

But there is also a sickness.

Discoloration.

Patches of withered green.

Zoom in close (click on the pics) to see the splotches.

Is something wrong here, unnatural? Or is this natural wilting? I'm not a botanist, so I can't be 100% sure.

Are the radiation levels around these plants super high? No. I found no evidence of really high levels around any of these bushes, trees or flowers. But I did find elevated levels around most of them, and in most cases 2 feet from a spot with slightly elevated levels the readings go back down to 0.10 uSv/hr and the vegetation usually seems fresh, green and lush.

What does all this say? I don't claim to have an answer. But it does say something.

Let the stereotypes roll!

2011-06-06T17:48:00.004+09:00

After watching the first few episodes of the new Hawaii Five-O, all I have to say is wow.

Not wow, good... tho I do have to admit, it is a fun show to watch.

I mean wow, I can't believe how many stereotypes they've crammed into this show. Within the 3 episodes I've seen they've got generic Euro-trash arms dealers, a Russian mobster-esque femme fatale, and Chinese and Samoan gangers as minor thugs, with the real ringleaders being (of course), white mafioso from Jersey, with even a short, Joe Pesci-esque pizza man thrown in to boot. I'm not even exaggerating in the slightest.

And of course the icing on the cake is my favorite: the anti-stereotype stereotype kick-ass tough hot Asian chick, here played by the semi-attractive Grace Park, the latest in a long line of semi-attractive Asian kick-ass "babes."

Note, I don't have anything against any of these women, I just don't think Devon Aoki or Grace Park, or many other Asian actresses who've been built up to be these exotic sex symbols is as hot as they are made out to be. If only Hollywood could give them real roles that actually showed their acting talents (or let them smile), maybe we might have a chance to see them for who they really are, and see some real beauty.

But anyway, no it's not a bad show. But it is definitely a sign of the times, and what people (men who still think like 15 year old boys) want to watch.

Now I'm off to watch some Nikita. Wait, did I say that out loud?

Knowing

2011-06-05T09:36:00.003+09:00

Yes, there it is, my Geiger counter - er, dosimeter I guess I should say.

It is a DP802i I picked up last week. Why buy a dosimeter? Isn't it just as bad as people who run down to the store and clear out shelves of crap they never intend to eat or mountainous packs of toilet paper when a storm is coming?

I don't think so.

Japan has had a huge disaster involving radiation. Yes, it is far from me. Yes, both the government and independent universities are saying rad levels in my area are safe (or at least, not too much higher than normal).

But try telling that to your family back home. Try telling that to yourself. It doesn't work. Unfortunately, radiation isn't like a forest fire, where you can see the flames getting closer. You could be burning from exposure and not feel a thing.

I wanted to just believe the numbers floating around, but that's not enough. Not for me, and not for the people I care about. So I bought the dosimeter. You could say it's a safety blanket, something to hold on to for reassurance.

But that goes out the window when you detect real radiation. Let me tell you, the first time you see the numbers suddenly jump up, your heart skips a beat.

No, I did not discover a green glowing blob of plutonium, nothing like that. But I did find a patch of dirt with elevated levels - up to 0.38 uSv/hr. Not dangerous, but worth noticing.

Since then I've noticed a few more patches. Some with higher levels, most much lower. And I have informed people who can do something about it. Am I saving the world? No. But does it help to notice danger where it is, and take action? I think so.

IMO it is a lot worse to bury your head in the sand and ignore the issue than to actually do something about it. Not bothering to check out of a fear of the results isn't just hurting yourself - it hurts everyone around you. This could be said about getting an AIDS test or testing for cancer, so why not with radiation, too?

[ Note: If you do the math, I got it on Wednesday at 7pm, and it's now showing a total reading of 10.5 microSieverts, which amounts to an average of 0.114 microSieverts per hour (uSv/hr), which over a year would amount to 998 uSv, meaning I'm getting less radiation here than average US background levels (about 3.1 mSv or 3,100 uSv). This doesn't include anything I'll get from medical tests or food, so the picture is incomplete, but it does mean that northern Chiba is not, in fact, a nuclear wasteland. It is actually very clean, by global standards. ]

Using rumors as a weapon

2011-06-03T08:35:00.003+09:00

It has long been a tactic of governments to use rumors and hints of evil as weapons of manipulation. Look at the occupation of Iraq, which was shoved down Americans' throats as a war of preemptive self defense. The Iraqis didn't have weapons of mass destruction, but the idea that they did, spread around and mixed with overblown CIA reports, was enough to convince us (and most of Congress) that we had to go to war.

Now the same thing is happening in Japan.

A lot of talk is going on about 風評被害 - harmful rumors. Politicians talk of how harmful rumors of radioactive iodine or cesium in food products are hurting sales in Fukushima and surrounding areas. They tell us not to believe the rumors, trust us, they say, and keep buying local foods and beverages.

But do they give us complete numbers? No. Do they test all food products in these areas regularly? I don't think so. At least the data isn't being posted in a visible, easy to find way.

Trust is one thing. I trust the earnestness and fear for their livelihoods local farmers and food producers must feel. That is a true tragedy, one of the man-made parts of the earthquake/tsunami/nuke disaster. I really feel for these people and want to support them.

But simply accepting seemingly unfounded statements of safety from the government feels foolish.

A few weeks ago there was a guy on TV (I think the mayor of one of the towns being evacuated now), shown with a bowl of vegetables. A guy in coveralls waved a Geiger counter over the produce and said, "See, it's safe," and showed the negligible radiation reading to the TV. Then the mayor chowed down, gulping and smacking down gobs of green and red, and after 15 seconds or so, pauses and answers the reporter's question of "How is it?" with a gargled "Delicious."

Unfortunately that was a totally meaningless display. You can't measure radiation in food with a Geiger counter. It's a time-consuming process that requires expensive equipment and expertise. You also have to measure separately for each isotope, meaning even a reading of 0 Bq of cesium may not yet mean the food is safe.

So what was this display on TV besides a show of ignorance? It was exactly what the government is warning about. Showing a dude on TV wearing a suit, eating "safe" food does nothing to help anyone, and is more an attempt to lull people who don't know into a false sense of safety.

Do I think I, personally, am in danger? Not so much - not from background radiation anyway. I am far from the site. Local radiation readings show only a marginally elevated level.

But am I (and all of Japan) in danger from irradiated food? Possibly.

What we need now is real data and real education, not false platitudes of safety.

Beer!!

2011-05-28T11:03:00.002+09:00

Just wanted to let people know that Oktoberfest is going on right now, until tomorrow, in Hibiya Park. Yes, Oktoberfest in May (?) is what I was saying to, but it's really cool. There's a big tent to sit and drink under, tons of German sausages, chicken, potato dishes and pretzels for sale, as well as real German beer on tap. So go, get drunk, and enjoy.

It's also easy to find. Take the Chiyoda subway to Hibiya station and the park exit. Or go on the Yamanote line to Yurakucho station, but that's a bit more of a hike.

Here's a map:

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It's the end of the world, and you're not invited!

2011-05-21T16:40:00.003+09:00

So how are you spending your last days on pre-rapture Earth?

Yes, today is May 21st, 2011, the day Christian radio host Harold Camping claims will be the beginning of the end.

Personally, I could think of no better way to face being LEFT BEHIND than playing a little Dead or Alive on my 3DS, reading the Oatmeal's take on the rapture (very funny), and recovering from a hangover.

BTW, DOA Dimensions is really good, and reminds me of why I like the series. Yes, the voice acting is kinda lame and the series is not as intense as Mortal Kombat, but that is a good thing, IMO. The whole genre of 1-1 fighting is kind of silly, so the makers of the Dead or Alive series have always approached it with a tongue in cheek style that I find refreshing after the overly epic, overly self-aware style of most games.

Oh, and it has bouncy boobs (now in 3D) and is quite easy to control even on a handheld. Pre-order it from amazon if you're in the US, or get a copy in Japan now.

And if anyone cares, unlike most 3DS games in Japan, DOA has multiple languages to choose from, for both menus and voices, and you can set the voices to one language and have subtitles in another. A cool move by Team Ninja that I wish was the norm rather than an exception to the rule.

Lingering effects and influences

2011-05-19T22:46:00.002+09:00

Scanning through the IMDB, I sometimes find myself picking an actor I know and seeing how many movies of theirs I've seen, and go through them giving ratings and if I like the movie enough, reading the trivia section a bit.

Yeah, sounds lame, but it can be fun and I've found a few lesser known gems this way.

OK, so I'm scanning through the Jimmy Stewart entry and I get to It's a Wonderful Life, my personal favorite Christmas movie, mainly because of the acting but also because it has an interesting story to tell.

And I got to thinking about the little things that had changed in the alternate universe where George Baily had not existed. And it got me thinking about the little influences on other people we all make in our lives, some big and others trivial.

Here are a few things that come to mind, things I know I caused:

1. Increased sales of Chuck Taylor Converse shoes: OK, maybe just 1 increased sale. But I did cause it. Back in high school I dated a girl for a long time and spent a lot of time at her house. I got to know her family very well - I always found being in a non-broken home interesting, and I really liked all of them, still do but I'm not home much and don't get much chance to see any of them.

Anyway, my girlfriend was the cool one of the family, so naturally I was treated like a cool guy by the youngsters who gathered at various family parties. I wore a very standard pair of Chucks back then, and I remember my girlfriend telling me her nephew (if I remember right) was saying he wanted a pair to be just like me. It was a cool feeling, like I was the fun, hip uncle. In my mind I'd like to think he was a cool kid at his school and caused a craze of Chuck wearers, because they are a damn nice looking pair of shoes.

2. Lung/throat cancer: OK, I can't be sure about this one, but I do know of a liquor store that only started stocking cigars after I asked about them a few times. I don't smoke them much anymore, but they still are in stock a decade later, so someone must be buying them. Hmm...

3. A short-lived taco craze: There was a Mexican restaurant in Kashiwa when I worked at Nova that was the total place to hang out. And me (and a friend) were definitely the reason for its success... and also possibly for its failure. Before we brought in all our Nova buddies the place was kinda tame, but the cheap beers and good Mexican food brought us in, and all our friends and their friends.

And I can't be sure, but my gut says one of the reasons the owner shut the place down was because he was sick of being leaned on by Yakuza types, not liking how his cheap beers were driving business away from their places (because everywhere in the area mysteriously charges the same price for beer). Again, I can't be sure, but you hear a lot of rumors.

OK that's enough for now. I'm rambling.

Nagareyama Sunset

2011-05-19T22:28:00.003+09:00

Just a pic I took of the sunset above Edogawadai Station.

Best octopus ever

2011-05-19T22:17:00.004+09:00

Like takoyaki (batter cooked octopus balls)? Or better yet, don't like takoyaki? Yeah, I didn't either until I tried some from Osakayaki Santa in Nagareyama. Wow is it good. Unlike most takoyaki the mass of batter doesn't come out like molten lava. Here, the cooks get the perfect temperature to ensure it's hot, but not too hot, and the sauce they use is just outstanding.

Try one and I guarantee you'll think differently about this traditional Japanese snack.

Want to find it, go to google maps and do a search for 江戸川台駅 (Edogawadai Station, in Nagareyama) and then search from there for 大阪やき三太. (Osakayaki Santa) or click here. It's right outside the station. There are other branches around, but IMO this one has the best quality, and it's super cheap, 300 yen for a pack of 6 jumbo sized takoyaki.

Enjoy.

He wants to put WHAT in my ear?!?

2011-05-15T17:41:00.001+09:00

Ok, so people are making a big fuss about Osama Bin Laden's death, whether cheering in the streets or complaining about the cheering. And now people are joking about the huge porn stash found in his base's computers. Or complaining about the joking, that the US might be making it up, or blowing it out of proportions as a way of discrediting Bin Laden in the minds of devout Muslims.

First of all, I have to say I don't care how devoted you are to religion, being on the run, hiding in caves and whatnot will mess up anyone after a very short time. I don't even want to imagine the massive stash of porn they'd find in my computer if I'd been alone left to my own business for a few weeks.

And second, if the US really was using the porn stash just to discredit him, they would've said what kind of porn it was, not just the amount.

Although we do know he wasn't into kiddie porn, because they surely would've said that regardless, my gut tells me the reason no one has said what kind of porn it was is because his tastes were either so vanilla (vintage playboy) or so terrible (photoshopped images of him banging Hillary, Obama, Bush and Gore in a 5-way) that they don't think they should release the info.

Ah well. At least if they did tell what kind of porn he was into it would still be better than death pics.

Hey Little Black Swan...

2011-05-14T22:04:00.003+09:00

I went to see Black Swan today.

Wow. Natalie Portman, in what was basically a one-woman production, gave what easily could be the best performance of her career. I don't want to dwell on the story too much - it's a quite simple story of a performer's descent into Koo Koo craziness as she tries and tries to become ballet perfection.

OK I won't be giving much of a review today, because I want anyone who hasn't seen it to go into the movie with a blank slate like I had - I specifically avoided seeing or reading anything about the movie beforehand besides the trailer I posted above.

Suffice it to say that it is very rare that an actor can draw you into their role so quickly like Portman does in this film. Whether you like it or not - and I'm still not quite sure that I liked the movie overall so much - her presence on the screen in this movie is mesmerizing.

... And on a "weird Japan" side-note, I heard an unusual comment as I left the theater.

A Japanese guy and his girlfriend are talking about how good Natalie Portman was in the movie and how beautifully she looked, and he tells her (I shit you not), how he really appreciated how the director emphasized her boyish figure.

Um... What?

OK I'll leave it to my readers to decipher what he was exactly talking about. Sounded kinda pervy to me, but maybe that just means I'm the perv. But Japan has a long love affair with the pedarasty-looks of Natalie Portman.

Anyway, watch the movie if you haven't seen it yet.

Dick Johnson for President!

2011-05-14T19:30:00.001+09:00

So Newt Gingrich just announced he's running for president in 2012.

Assuming he wins the nomination, the Dems should be as happy as a bunch of tree-hugging pigs in shit. You know why?

His name is Newt for chrissakes.

No one, and I mean no one, will ever be president in the tv era with a name like that.

Yes, you heard me right. And you know why? Because Americans will never allow it.

Just like they'd never let in a Colin (ick), a Quale (duh), an Al (sorry AlGore, no go), or even a John Kerry... Ok that's not a name issue, the dude just looks too much like Herman Munster.

Barack Obama only got in because his name sounds like he may have, in fact, been in a Mortal Kombat before getting into politics.

Which means there's one man Obama should fear in 2012: Mitt Romney.

Wait... Mitt?!

Never mind...

Sorry, Repubs, ya got nothing.

A little night... laser

2011-05-09T21:33:00.005+09:00

Walking around Nagoya City, and you'll discover something almost immediately. The city is big. Real big.

And not in the same way that Tokyo or other big cities are in Japan. It's wide.

In Tokyo even if you get lost you can usually find a bus stop, subway or train station relatively quickly, especially on main roads.

In Nagoya... not so much. After figuring a little bit out about the lay of the city (and walking endless laps through Nagoya Station for no damn reason - don't ask) I got an idea of where to go to find good food and sites, and had a great time. But man, is the city tiring if you wander off in the right direction. There are also a lot of places where you'll see nothing but street and cars for miles.

If all you know of Japan is the tight, endless cityscape, I'd recommend a visit. The city is also quite beautiful in areas, tho I personally prefer the night scene in Tokyo or Yokohama.

BTW, the pics are of the Nagoya TV Tower, and a laser beam that was pointing at it from a waaays away. You can see the green dot on the tower in the top pic. Here's the source of the laser:

I'm back

2011-05-09T21:20:00.002+09:00

Hey fans, sorry for the long delay. It was Golden Week here in Japan, and your friendly neighborhood Centipede here went on a little trip down to Nagoya. Not my first time going there, but I found a lot more cool places to visit this time, went to Iga Ueno and attended the Ninja Festival (silly but fun), and blew too much money. So I had a good trip.

Anyway, I was planning on posting pics I took there but blogger on my Mac doesn't seem to be working. Which is odd since it's fine on my iPad.

Ah well. Check back later and I'll post more.

[ Update: Got it working, here's a pic of a little shrine dedicated to Todo Takatora in the ruins of Tsu Castle. ]

Kashiwa B&W goodness

2011-04-29T15:30:00.002+09:00

A nice night in the city.

Abiko sunset

2011-04-29T15:14:00.000+09:00

I don't know how many times I've seen a yellow sunset. Pretty cool.

980 Yen all-you-can-drink highballs!?!

2011-04-19T18:56:00.000+09:00

Want some cheap vittles and drinks? When you're done schmaltzing around in Ginza, head to Yurakucho station and you can find under the train tracks this little strip of cool old dive bars, including one that has a 90 minute all-you-can-drink highball course for 980 yen, which ain't bad.

Voices from the past

2011-04-17T10:53:00.001+09:00

What can we learn from the Fukushima nuclear disaster?

... to that I don't have a good answer. What can you really learn from any disaster besides to try to be a little more safe as individuals and as a society?

Is nuclear power safe? In general I'd still answer yes. But there needs to be someone on the outside watching. Just allowing the government or the agencies themselves (which of course have an interest in making money and keeping their names clean, in addition to safety) is something that we can't really allow anymore.

People from home, especially in the beginning, kept asking me why I didn't leave Japan. And in honesty, there's really only one reason why I felt safe enough to stay: because of radiation level announcements by local universities and individuals that kept me feeling more safe and sane. Fortunately, we live in a world where everyone is watching, there are outsiders there to ensure info comes out. Of course more has to be done, but it's a good start.

In the meantime, I want everyone to read Voices from Chernobyl, a collection of reports from the men and women who experienced the event firsthand. I read it a year ago, and it (and the research it inspired me to do) has helped me to understand the current disaster a lot more, and is a gut wrenching collection that I think it is our duty as users of nuclear power to read.

The pic above was taken from Skyscraper City, a great online forum about urban architecture and photography, and place to discuss how and why we choose where to live.

Looking Up

2011-04-12T17:17:00.000+09:00

Just another cherry blossom pic. Not to toot my horn... but I think this pic really shows what a large sensor camera can do. This isn't a macro, it was just taken by opening the aperture up as far as it goes and manually focusing in.

3 Shades

2011-04-11T22:35:00.000+09:00

It's April, and the cherry blossom trees are finally in bloom, after a long cold summer. It's almost like they were afraid to start (and I don't blame them, all things considered).

As you can see, cherry blossoms come in many sizes, shapes and patterns.

I've always felt that the sakura trees were a little strange and mysterious, often taking on odd shapes that can really only be appreciated when they're in full bloom.

So Ishihara wins again... Wait, what?!?

2011-04-10T22:29:00.001+09:00

Ok, this post won't be long. I just want to ask a single person who voted for Ishihara to tell me what they think about his frequent racist comments and his recent comment that the earthquake was "punishment from God" (天罰 - tenbatsu).

I'm sorry, the fact that he speaks his mind doesn't make up for the times when pure shit pours out of it.

It also doesn't make up for the money he wasted trying to win the Olympics bid for Tokyo (around 15 billion yen). IMO even if he was a nice dude with only the nicest things to say about people, that alone would be reason enough to not reelect him.

Watch this video taken from within the Fukushima evacuation zone

2011-04-09T22:25:00.000+09:00

Watch this video. The guys who filmed it are either brave or stupid, or a little of both, and assuming it is real shows that while radiation levels near the Fukushima nuclear plants are elevated, the area isn't an insta death zone... Of course this was filmed one day by one group of people and levels there could go up or down...

I don't know. Is it scary to know there's a radiation zone north of where I live? Yes. But as I've said again and again, geography and distance are on my side. There is a local monitoring post (not governmentally run) that shows radiation levels every few hours and the dose I and most Tokyo area people are getting is only vaguely higher than normal.

For me the real issue (which the men filming this video highlight indirectly) is the effect on plant and animal life in the immediate area around the plant, as well as the people who have now been forced to abandon their homes. The history of the area around Chernobyl can give us some kind of idea of what to expect, tho the differences in the 2 incidents are great enough that you can never be sure.

Note: One last piece of info for my family who may be reading this: As of this posting no radioactive iodine or cesium has been detected in my city's tap water. I am taking precautions. I don't plan on running up to Fukushima or the nearby area to shove fistfuls of lettuce in my face.

In the face of a disaster like this, we need info to remain calm, or know when to panic if needed. As for now, from my view of comfort 200km away I can only pray and hope for the people and animals of the area.

What does God need with a fire detector?

2011-04-03T23:05:00.000+09:00

"My cousin is safe, praise Jesus!"

Sounds harmless at first, a common declaration of relief after a tragedy has struck.

Before I continue with what will be an unusually serious blog post, I want to apologize if I offend anyone. If you think a discussion of God's relationship with the world and disasters might bother you, I suggest you stop reading now and check back in later when I'm back to posting pointless commentary on TV commercials.

OK, do I have anyone left?

Anyway, I've heard the "... is safe, praise Jesus" line or something like it several times after the earthquake and tsunami hit on March 11th. And I'm sure many expats leaving Japan hear the same kind of thing when they meet up with loved ones back home.

It sounds innocuous enough unless you have a certain hatred or fear of religion itself. But something about this statement bothered me. At first I couldn't put my finger on it, but then it hit me. The statement of praise to God for saving a loved one isn't what bothers me. It's what the statement could imply, if taken one way.

Bear with me. The stream of logic in my head went like this. They say: 1. My cousin is safe, praise Jesus. Which implies: 2. God must have had a reason for saving him. Which then leads us to 3: therefore, God had a reason to not save the other 10,000+ people who died.

This may seem far fetched, but there are people out there who make declarations that God was punishing the sinners after almost every major disaster. This kind of crap floated up after Haiti and Katrina, and now with Japan too, from people in the US as well as even some Japanese people (I was going to post links but I decided against it).

A disaster is a time to think about religion. It's like a war, too. They say there are no atheists in trenches, but every combatant, every survivor of a major terrorist incident, and every person touched by a disaster has to have their religion tested, or else (IMO) your faith is just blind and not real faith at all. Why did God save me? Why did they die, and not me? Why did so many have to die? If you don't ask yourself these questions at some time, then... I don't even know what to say to you.

There's a good article up at the Huffington Post about a Jewish perspective on God and disasters, and I would say this is kind of where my beliefs lie, and is about how I think any intelligent religious person has to reconcile belief in a good God with the fact that bad things happen.

IMO, God didn't specifically shake the earth so houses could fall, a tsunami hit and a nuke plant leak radiation. He wasn't out there specifically to take the lives of these 10,000+ people. If you believe that, then you must admit that you worship an evil (or at least cruel) deity. Because in the lists of the dead I know you will find children. And I know you will find good, honest people who lost their brothers, sisters, wives and husbands, and their children, people whose lives will be forever scarred by this event. If you believe God was wreaking punishment on sinners, and kinda went, "Oops, too bad about those other people who got in the way," then I think you deserve every bad thing that happens in your life, too.

IMO a good God, one that I would hope believers believe in, made the world, and the world sometimes shakes. These shakings can cause an earthquake, which can lead to a tsunami. But that is just a question of the design of the world, and wasn't done specifically as a means of expressing wrath. It's like the article said, "Earthquakes happen. We can't depend on miracles. But we are responsible for the rickety ladders (dangerous dwellings) in our lives."

The earthquake that hit Japan and tsunami that followed was a disaster on an unprecedented scale. But it could've been much worse. Japan has insanely tough building codes. Just think about how bad things could've been without them. I surely would be dead, because I was inside a 4 story concrete building at the time.

If anything possibly can be gained from this disaster, it will be an awareness of the dangers of nuclear power, the need to guard against future quakes and enforce strict building codes and to try to build away from dangerous low lying areas. We can also learn, I hope, to treasure the people around us, and show and be witness to kindness.

Japan CM of the week: AKB sells computers

2011-04-01T23:27:00.000+09:00

OK, this one is a little old, but you still see it on TV from time to time. If you don't recognize them, those are AKB48 members in the commercial. I love the fun Japanese companies put into their commercials, and this is a good example of interesting and good use of effects in a nice, pleasing way.

And if anyone needs to know, Mariko Shinoda (篠田麻里子), the 2nd one who appears with the tennis racket, is my favorite member. Not only because she's attractive, but also she can act.

Ueno base pic

2011-03-29T11:55:00.000+09:00

This is an unmodified, standard shot I took in the same area, overlooking the main street crossing just outside Ueno station. Note, also: in the previous pics I didn't use a program to reprocess the images, they were taking using different scene modes on the GXR.

New GXR features - high contrast B&W and cross process

2011-03-29T11:52:00.000+09:00

This is a pic taken outside Ueno station using the GXR's new high contrast B&W mode. Kinda cool, and shows once again the quality Ricoh puts into their black and white processing of pics.

And this is a pic from the same location using cross process, with vignetting turned on. I'm not sure what to say about this mode. It seems to be mimicking the shitty film shots from the 60s or 70s you sometimes see.

Cherry Blossoms Ueno

2011-03-29T11:43:00.000+09:00

I walked around Ueno yesterday, and saw that just a few of the cherry blossom trees were in bloom. Nice.

Back to real gaming

2011-03-29T10:55:00.000+09:00

As reported in Gamasutra and elsewhere, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime doesn't want garage developers making games whose "value quickly goes to zero." Ie., he doesn't want the 3DS or Wii online markets to quickly fill up with disposable $1 or free games.

My first reaction was a lot like many people online, to bitch a bit about how maybe cheap or free games that make money off of ads is the way the market is heading. I mean heck, I basically abandoned my DS and PSP after I got my iPhone, and have never looked back...

Until now.

Well, to be more specific, the turning point for me is Samurai Warriors: Chronicles on the 3DS.

It's fun. Damn fun. It's also not especially easy, and has a ton of customization and a long play life.

It also controls well, because you use a real analog d-pad (thingy) to move and real buttons to attack.

And when I noticed this, I had my "Aha!" moment - when I realized Fils-Aime is right.

I was talking about this with my friend last night, and what he said is basically right. If you have a real game and a cheapo copy of the real game, people will invariably steer towards the cheap copy. The difference may be small, but it is there. And after a while of buying cheap versions of games, you forget what real gaming is and you only play as a diversion, not to have fun.

Now I'm not saying that pricing is everything. I'm not saying that a game that costs $40 is inherently better than one that costs $1. BUT, real games take programming and development. Real games might need a team of people, or teams of people working on them. A real game is like a big movie.

Maybe one day there will be a revolution in game design that'll allow you to make epic games of pure awesomeness by yourself for basically no money. But as it stands, playing cheapo games on an iPhone or android tablet is like watching youtube clips instead of watching real movies. Yes, you might have some fun, but at the end of the day it's just a diversion.

So that's why I'm happy Nintendo is going down the road it is. I want to see downloads for the 3DS but I will be happy to pay $10 or $20 once a month for a real mini of high quality, rather than download 50 games that are only fun for a few minutes but that cost me less overall.

GXR firmware update!

2011-03-28T09:24:00.000+09:00

For anyone out there with a GXR camera (ie me), Ricoh has just posted a firmware update. The new firmware (1.33) adds in a bunch of new scenes, like high contrast B&W, cross process, miniature mode and toy camera mode.

Hey, it's always nice to get features. And it's always nice to see a company that cares about their customers and their products enough to give continued support for years after a release, rather than just dumping out newer models that are only very slight upgrades... (tho admittedly Ricoh does do the quick release schedule for their lowest end models).

AC No More - and no more spears, too

2011-03-23T21:50:00.001+09:00

If you live in Japan (as reported on Kotaku), you've seen the AC ads that have been on tv constantly. AC is a non-profit organization, so I can understand why the ads would be on the air now when few companies would want their products to be associated with images of disaster.

Some of the AC ads, like the Kodama one are nice (I personally like the way she says "baka"). But others like the dancing animals or the Omiyari (思いやり, compassion) one are enough to drive me into a Hulk-like rage, smashing everything in sight, especially after seeing the same damn ad 6 times in a half hour period.

So if you feel the same way as I do, just remember this stupid pun the next time you see it on tv.

The original: 思いは見れないけど... 思いやりは誰にでも見える (Omoi wa mirenai kedo... Omoiyari wa dareni demo mieru), which means, "No one can see your thoughts, but anyone can recognize compassion."

My version:「重い」は見れないけど... 重い槍は誰にでも見える (same pronunciation), meaning, "No one can see weight, but anyone can recognize a heavy spear."

Ok, not that funny. But at least when you watch the same scene of a kid helping the old lady walk up the stairs again and again and again (I just saw it twice in a 5min period), you can imagine after the ad the kid busts out his spear and assaults the enemy encampment.

Responsible reporting on a disaster

2011-03-21T13:46:00.000+09:00

Go to CNN and their special section about the disaster in Japan. They have several stories about survivors of the tsunami, effects of the earthquake, and a photo gallery, but the main bulk of the top of their site is devoted to the nuclear plants. They have a FAQ about whether it could become another Chernobyl, what you need to know about radiation, and so on and so on.

Go to Fox News. On the main page there is a mention of the death toll and a rescue, but your eyes are drawn to a pic and story about radioactive contamination of produce in Japan.

Now go to the NY Times' World page. The big Japan article is about contamination. Though they have several articles about the disaster itself, the obvious focus is on the nuclear side.

What image do you get of the disaster in Japan, then, if you aren't here? Naturally your eyes are drawn to the dangers at the Fukushima plants. But that's not the real disaster, not by far. It is an aspect of the terrible events of the last week, but is by far outweighed by the 18,000+ lives lost, and the 300K+ people now living in shelters.

There are people dying in shelters, and all anyone can think about is the dangers of radioactive fallout. And who can blame them, when you have an endless stream of images on TV of the nuke plants smoking?

Responsible news should be about reporting on what is happening and giving people the info they need to make a difference, save a life, and know about the world around them. But when you feed into fears to increase clicks on your website, you become a part of the problem.

Focus on the images of the real disaster, raise awareness, and get people to contribute. That is how you save lives. Use your journalistic abilities for good.

Check out this site for links to deplorable news coverage.

[ Note: I am posting March 21, 1:30PM JPN Time. So contents of pages will most likely change as days pass. ]

Kara - making a contribution with Jet Coaster Love

2011-03-20T16:02:00.000+09:00

Have you seen the video of KARA's new single, Jet Coaster Love?

I have to say I like the song, and KARA just made an announcement that they will be donating 100% of their profits from sales of the single and online downloads to disaster relief in Japan.

So if you want to give, buy their single and you can get a cheery song to remind you of your great big heart.

New Format!

2011-03-20T15:53:00.000+09:00

Just thought I'd make a post to announce my blog's new look. What do you think? I liked the black background but after a while I've gotten to thinking and I decided it was too close to my old homepage I had back in college, so here is my new, improved look (with 30% better readability, and only 2% more radioactive material).