Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Dubya goes to Japan, part one.
It’s only natural that when a country hosts an international even that they want to show off their culture. Japan is currently hosting the G8 summit in Hokkaido. As such, the eight world leaders were asked to participate in the Tanabata tradition of writing a wish on a piece of paper and tying it to a tree. This tradition stems from the fact that Tanabata is the Star Festival and the words for “wish” and “star” are the same (hoshi) only written with different kanji. 欲しい and 星 respectfully. By the way, that was an excuse to see if the blogger software can handle Japanese writing.
So, what did the world leaders wish for? According to the Japan Times, the wishes were as follows:
England—PM Gordon “Not Blair” Brown. I will mock the other leaders, but not this one. July 7th may be Tanabata in Japan, but in the UK it is the anniversary of the London terrorist bombing. His wish was for an end to terrorism and a prayer for those who lost their lives in London. A class act.
Germany—Chancellor Angela “no amusing nickname” Merkel. She wished for a bright star to shine over the summit and for all nations to meet their responsibilities. A bit of a “take that” at the USA, which has a decades long reputation for signing treaties and accords, then using them to line the birdcage.
Japan—PM Yasuo “spell check says his name is Fu**er” Fukuda. The current PM has approval ratings below those of President Bush and is basically counting on this summit to save his job. He had a good chance here to show his intelligence and skill with the language (two things the Japanese apparently LIKE in their leaders) and he blew it by just writing one of his political catchphrases. “Learning from past wisdoms and creating new ones.” The spell checker may have been right.
USA—Still President George W. “I’m still allowed to touch things” Bush. This is a good one. I should point out that he wrote in English, it was translated into Japanese for the press, and that was retranslated back into English before the Japan Times published it. Why they didn’t just read the original, I don’t know. The Tanabata wish of Still President Bush: I wish for a world free from tyranny. Please insert your own joke about Jan 20, 2009 here: __________________________________________.
What a maroon!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
All's fair in love and war records
OK, there’s nothing much in the Japanese press today except that gas prices have gone up another 10 yen a liter. Speaking of which, I was wrong about the translation of the gas prices I’m paying. 1 gallon is 3.78 liters not 4, my mistake. So I’m actually paying $6.77/gal, not $6.80. (Big !$#%ing deal!)
What I’d like to talk about today is Barack Obama and his decision to take the high road with regards to John McCain. Gen. Wesley
This just goes to show that Barack Obama is simply a better person than John McCain. McCain’s service record is his main selling point, yet nobody is examining it that closely. The general idea is that you don’t attack the record of an ex-POW veteran with several impressive metals attached to his chest. That’s all well and good, but where was that logic 4 years ago when the GOP ripped John Kerry to pieces with false information about his war record?
The double standard extends to this election as well. One reason that nobody is attacking McCain’s record is it is equated as attacking his patriotism or attacking American troops in general. Again, that doesn’t stop the GOP from attacking Obama on the same issues, but what the hell. This is ridiculous of course. Examining his service record is just looking to see if he was any good at his job. It has nothing to do with courage, patriotism, or anything else. It’s about seeing if the foundation of the McCain campaign is strong enough to hold up the entire free world. Kinda important, donja think?
I don’t see what the problem is with looking at McCain’s background. It's ok to look at Obama’s background and experience and evaluate him as a potential POTUS but not ok to do the same to McCain. Why? Because he was in the military? The military contains the same crosscut of individuals as the rest of the population. I say from first hand experience, there are people in the military that I wouldn’t trust to run a cub scout den, much less a country (including some of the peoplewho ran MY cub scout den). Is it because John McCain was a POW? Well, I’m sorry if this sounds crass, but if you crash your plane behind enemy lines and are captured by said enemy then something went very badly wrong! And you automatically deserve to be the President of the
While we’re on the subject, would somebody please define the word patriotism or patriot for me? Over the last few years a patriot appears to have come to mean someone who never questions what they are told, a person who never disagrees with the authority figure, a person who proclaims the greatness of their flag and nation without knowing anything about its inner workings or history, a person who is proud of their ignorance, and most importantly a person who is a Republican. And not just a republican, a Bush/Rove republican. That can’t be right. If it is, then I am not a patriot and I am damn proud of it.
Getting back to the point, I just hope this impressive show of class by Obama doesn’t come back to haunt him. Not retaliating in kind when you are attacked and not stooping down to the lowest common level is seen as a sign of weakness under the modern political paradigm. This is a bad idea for the GOP. They are hearing the message “I’m going to be a nice guy while you attack
Thursday, June 26, 2008
I need my own talk show.
Two interesting notes in the Japanese press today. First, the rigorous training of the Japanese Olympic team . . . fork and knife training! Yes, it turns out that he Beijing Olympic Village is saving time and dishwashers by serving all meals on paper plates with plastic western serving utensils. I guess all the money is going into their weather control cannons. I wish I’d made that up.
In an understandable panic, the Japanese athletes have been training for this by eating without chopsticks once a week for the last month or so. Also, the dishes served have been straight Chinese. Chinese food in Japan is typically redesigned to cater to the Japanese palette (the same thing happens everywhere else). Not this time, the brave Olympians are eating the same things the Chinese do. The poor dears.
The general conclusion, according to the Reuters story I read, “We need to sneak chopsticks and soy sauce into Beijing.” Therefore it is clear that these people are missing the point of the Olympics by several light years.
The second story is much more serious and relates back to something I reported on a while ago, relations between the US military and the people of Japan. A Japanese court has ordered 146 million yen (about $1.35 million) paid to the people living near Futenma Air Station. Futenma is a Japanese ASDF (Air Self Defense Force) base that is shared with the US. The reason for the citizen’s complaint? The helicopters are noisy and they are scared of accidents.
According to the court:
The Japanese government had "infringed on the rights of residents by sharing the air station [with the Americans]," said presiding Judge Yoshimitsu Kawai, Jiji Press reported.
"The noise hampered conversation, television viewing and sleep. Residents have had increased emotional damage due to fear and insecurity about crashes."
The interesting thing here is that it is the Japanese government that is being asked to pay for this despite the activities of the US personnel being expressly stated as the cause of the problem. My opinion on the issue: these people are complaining about absolutely NOTHING! I lived on or near air bases most of my life before my 3rd year of high school. The noise is noticeable, but hardly disruptive. It’s also useful because you can often set your clocks by it. That said, the Japanese value their peace and quiet so I understand where they are coming from, but 1.35 million dollars is way too much.
Thankfully, the judge struck down both the original demand of 455 million yen and completely threw out the idea of ordering the base not to launch or land aircraft in the early morning/late evening. He also described the idea that the “low frequency sound waves from the helicopters” are causing the people health problems as unproven (that’s Japanese-polite-speak for ridiculous).
In a related story, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (who wishes he had approval ratings as high as George W. Bush) has promised to “reduce the burden” the US troops place on the people of Okinawa. This is the Japanese equivalent of an American politician promising to fund ethanol while campaigning in Iowa.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Tips to save money on gas
1. Obey the law. Silly as it may sound, one of the best ways to increase your miles per gallon is to drive at or slightly below the speed limit. The faster a car goes, the harder the engine has to work, and the more fuel is consumed. Driving the speed limit doesn’t really get you anywhere any slower and it will save you money in speeding tickets, so give it a shot.
2. Drive a constant speed. It is the constant acceleration and deceleration that drains a cars tank. That’s why the mpg listed for a vehicle is higher for highway driving than it is for city driving. On the highway, you are driving at a fairly constant speed. Try using that in town. Obviously, you still need to stop at traffic lights and such, but otherwise pick your speed and stick to it as traffic allows.
3. Make the car do the work. There are a few times when you can take your foot off the pedals and let the car do the driving for you.
A. When you have to stop, but have a long distance to do it in. When you see a red light in the distance and there are no cars between you and it, take you foot off the gas (COVER THE BRAKE JUST IN CASE) and let the car coast until you need to stop it. You will slow down gradually due to the laws of physics. If you are lucky, the light will turn green and you can gas on through, eliminating one of those nasty start/stop gas guzzling maneuvers.
B. When driving down hill and there is nothing in front of you. Take your foot off the gas and let inertia and gravity do the job. Again COVER THE BRAKE JUST IN CASE!!
During these times when the gas pedal is not engaged, there is little to no gasoline being burned. It isn’t much, but every mpg helps.
4. Stop Idling. This has been a major PSA campaign in Japan lately. The idea is that when you stop your car for more than about 30 seconds, switch it off. Modern cars (at least Japanese ones) use less fuel restarting than they do idling for a minute or more. So don’t leave the car running when your spouse dashes into the store for five minutes. Don’t circle the parking lot waiting to pick someone up. This one requires good judgment, but if it is done correctly, it can save up to a gallon per tank (according to the Japanese PSA campaign).
5. Drive less. Yeah, this is the one we don’t want. But sometimes it just makes sense NOT to drive. Use public transportation, park & ride, walk, or use whatever else you can. Failing that, you should at least try planning your route out ahead of time so you can cover the maximum amount of space with the least amount of driving. For that matter, combine trips and do as much as you can in one drive.
Just a few ideas that I've found work for me. The result is that I only need to go to the gas station twice a month even though I drive every day.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Extra!! Extra!! Read all about it!!!
The Monday, John McCain announced that he supports the idea of a $300 million prize to anyone, corporation or private citizen, who designs a reliable battery operated car. This is a fantastic idea and one that is a long time in coming. Just to make it clear, we are talking about $300,000,000.00 here!
I've said for a while now that the only way to get America back on it's feet is for us to start creating again. And the only way to ensure that is a good hard bribe. Why we didn't start doing this years ago is beyond me, but what the heck.
That said, I still believe that McBush would make a horrible president. But every once a decade or so, he apparently comes up with a good idea. And this is one that President Obama should seriously consider implementing.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Every comment is special
Nothing big, just a quick "Hi nice post. You require psychiatric help!" Is all I ask.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Random things. Ex: "socket wrench"
Topic 1: The election. For sake of the world, John McCain must never become President of the United States. For the sake of the world, John McCain must never become president of his local golf club. For the sake of the world, John McCain must never become president of his high school alumni association (although that particular one room school house has probably burned down by now).
This man is the worst candidate that I have ever seen. The last several months have been nothing but a continuous deluge of him flip-flopping, exaggerating, or saying things that just aren’t true. Not only does he not know who we are supposed to be fighting in Iraq, defense being his much ballyhooed strong point. He doesn’t even know what he voted for or what he said from one day to the next.
He doesn’t seem to realize that his votes in the Senate are a matter of public record, nor does he seem to know that those little black boxes with the blinking red lights record your words and image and those recordings can be replayed at anytime in the future.
There are four possible explanations for this, none of which are pleasant to think about:
1. John McCain is a habitual liar.
2. John McCain honestly can’t remember what he said or did in the past (whether this is due to his age, chronic injuries, or another factor is immaterial).
3. John McCain is so confident in his smear tactics and media minions that he doesn’t feel he needs to be consistent, coherent, or factual.
4. John McCain is an idiot.
And one possibility that is actually quite pleasant to think about:
5. John McCain is deliberately trying to lose the election because then the GOP can go back to being the poor beaten underdogs that they love to portray themselves as.
Topic 1.5: Cookie Gate round 2. I laughed out loud for about five minutes straight when I found out that John McCain’s wife has AGAIN plagiarized. A few months ago, Mrs. Cindy McCain was caught lifting recipes from the Food Network (Rachel Ray to be exact) and submitting them as “McCain Family Recipes.” Well, here we go again (cue: Benny Hill music). This time she has stolen her entry to the Family Circle Magazine First Lady Bakeoff contest from . . . wait for it . . . the Hershey website!
There are several comments worth making here. First: HERSHEY? You steal from Hershey? Are you kidding me? There are millions of cookbooks out there to swipe from (trust me) and you pick the Hershey website? The least you could have done was swipe from a good chocolate maker. Hershey chocolate tastes like wax.
Secondly, what does this say about the McCain’s? Between the husband and wife we now have a clear pattern of lying and theft in an attempt to get what they want. And they aren’t even very good at it. Beyond that, we see a pattern of trying what didn’t work last time and assuming everyone is too dumb to notice. Considering that Sen. McCain is proposing a continuation of the failed Bush administration, this is not a good idea.
Third, what does this say about America? The article that I read this story from mentioned that the winning recipe in the Family Circle bake off has correctly foreshadowed the winner of the general election the last four straight cycles. Why is it so important that the first lady be able to bake cookies? Hasn’t the whole “equality between the sexes” concept come farther that that? The first family is supposed to be a representative for the nation (part of that whole head of state thing) and the assumption is that the wife of this family has to be able to whip up a batch of great cookies. Am I the only one offended by this? And I’m a guy!
Topic 2: International Travel. I’m planning on returning to the United States this summer to visit my family and I am rather angry about something that came up when I booked my tickets. It turns out that the United States charges a $60 entrance fee to the country. That applies to both visitors and to returning nationals. I am an American Citizen! I should be able to enter my own damn country whenever I please! That’s why I bought a freaking passport in the first place. I know the US is broke, but there have to be better ways of making money.
Topic 3: Web comics. I just noticed that I mentioned these in my initial posting and haven’t said anything about them since. Web comics are comic strips drawn by amateur artists and posted to the internet. Most of these are rubbish, but there are a few that stand out. I tell you my top three now and expand upon that, er, someday.
1. El Goonish Shive. A typical high school drama including aliens, transformation guns, crystal generated clones, and a young mad scientist who falls in love with a squirrel. www.egscomics.com
2. Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire. A sword and sorcery fantasy story that centers on the life of Dominic Deegan, a seer who attracts trouble like a magnet and has a painful sense of humor. The man who draws this is one of the very few who has been able to turn his web comic into a full time job and updates 7 days a week. www.dominic-deegan.com
3. Order of the Stick: A D&D parody that’s drawn in deliberate stick figure style. If you’ve ever enjoyed a medieval quest fantasy from Tolken on down, you’ll like this. You don’t even have to understand the D&D references to get about 85% of the jokes.
www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0001.html
Topic 4: Ice cream. Who doesn’t like ice cream? Hmmmmmm, ice cream.
Topic 5: Trigger phrase—drakengaurd seltzer Jefferson.
Topic 6: What’s good on TV? Not much, but there are some programs on American TV that I recommend. First is Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC. This man is the heir apparent to Edward R. Murrow and Tim Russert. Second is American Gladiators. This show is a successful revival of the favorite programs from my youth. Come on, small people being smashed by larger than life characters for our personal amusement. Third, Doctor Who. The newest series sould be on American TV on either BBC America or Sci-Fi by now. It’s fantastic and the dynamic between the Doctor and the new Companion is truly unique. Lastly, I recommend the . . . er . . . OK, that’s all the good stuff on the air right now. But hey, Heroes is going to be coming back soon, right?
And now writing this is becoming tiresome. You may all run along now and return to your little lives. Begone!
(I’m practicing for when I become an Evil Overlord)
RyuSensei
Yeah, I know I need sleep.