It’s been about half-a-week since my last post was written and, I must admit, that I’ve been slacking off regarding the amount of time dedicated towards this site. But there is a good reason for this!
I’ve been applying for a visa renewal, visiting a doctor for some heart problems, and working on Embink. On top [...]
Despite my seemingly endless criticisms of the platform, WordPress is still one of the easiest and most versatile platforms available for companies and individuals who want to host their own website. That said, one criticism that many people have had over the last few years involves the number of hoops a person must go [...]
07.27.08 | Internet, Technology | Jason
When was the last time you defragmented your computer? Last month? Last year? Never?
Defragmenting our systems’ hard disks should be an important part of everyone’s computer maintenance schedule, but it’s amazing how rarely this function is actually performed. Then again, considering how many of us actually maintain our systems, we shouldn’t [...]
07.26.08 | Reviews, Technology | Jason
Along with the unrelenting summer heat, news stories are often replete with strange tales and even stranger people. This summer is no different as former NASA astronaut and 6th human on the moon, Dr. Edgar Mitchell, claims that extra-terrestrial beings have visited the Earth on several occasions and there is a global cover-up of [...]
Over a year has passed since 新潟県 (Niigata Prefecture) suffered a massive offshore earthquake. Measuring 7 on Japan’s scale of 7, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant quickly shut down the four reactors operating at the time. Aside from an outdoor transformer catching fire and some radioactive material from a spent fuel storage pool leaking into [...]
Unless you happen to be some sort of linguistic genius, a talented musician, or some unfair combination of the two, chances are you will have trouble learning a new language and the little nuances required for accent-free pronunciation. I’m lucky enough to have my very Japanese wife to help me with pronunciation, but there’s [...]
07.23.08 | Reviews, Windows Mobile | Jason
I’m sittin’ at a coffee table unable to see straight,
watchin’ parallel lines unwind and undulate,
across the steam-streaked windows the scene seems bleak,
another train leavin’ home
conceding defeat with a low moan.
Hanging in a sky made of stone,
everybody’s leavin’ home,
I call my man Jerome to come meet me in the Twilight Zone
“Leave your mobile phone at home [...]
I didn’t think it was going to happen … but I’ve finally upgraded to the latest version of WordPress. It wasn’t easy, and I’ve been swearing like an Irishman as issue after issue was uncovered when I started to bring all of my data over. What was the root cause of all my [...]
Hayao Miyazaki’s (宮崎駿) latest film hit the theatres this weekend. His first in four years, the tale of 崔の上のポニョ (Gake no Ue no Ponyo — Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea) end the speculation that the animation great had made his last movie. Reiko and I took advantage of the half-price movie tickets at [...]
Jeff Foxworthy had audiences around North America laughing several years ago with his “You might be a redneck” jokes and, while the jokes themselves are quite dated, the setup is not. So, as a tribute to the retired comedy act, and to oddities seen around Japan, here’s my rendition of the classic joke:
If you [...]
武島 (Takeshima) is a group of disputed islets situated between Japan and South Korea. The South Korean government claims this patch of land is sovereign territory and refers to it as Dokdo. Japan, on the other hand, steadfastly sticks to the position that the island group is an integral part of the country’s territory historically [...]
A few days ago, while telling me how stupid I was for saying that I wanted a notebook computer to last at least 15 years...
The countdown is almost up on this year's winter Japanese Language Proficiency Test, and thousands of people residing bo...
Do you ever wonder about your neighbours? I wrote a few months ago about how one of my neighbours has the same camouflag...
Believe it or not, I had a terrible habit back in Canada. It wasn't one with drugs, alcohol, women, or even excessive ...
Over the last decade or so I've been battling a bunch of minor problems such as insomnia, headaches, chest pain, and blo...