The End of Smugness

I grew up in Washington state. There was only one season south of Seattle. It was rain. I have lived in Japan for a while. There seems to be two seasons, Hot and Cold. It gets muggy and unbearable in the Summer. Then there is a few days of moderate temperature then the temperature loses pressure under its wings and tailspins. It goes from close to 90 to around 60. One day you need AC then it seems in a matter of days you need heat. The smug humidity is gone and the bracing chill comes.

I grew up with ice on the windshield in the morning. I rarely get that here but it feels colder. That is for two reasons. One, the older houses have poor insulation … Continue reading

Nothing but the Best for Friends

Recently I had someone come in from out of town. I thought I would treat them to something special. In the East we treat our guests right. This is the outside of a Dime 5 Star. One notices right off the start the most modern technology is being used. Yes, that is the Waitress 5000 Vending Machine. All you do is push the right buttons and you get your ticket for culinary delights. As you can see from the posters this lunch was not in the 10s but in the 100s. When have you paid 500 or more for a lunch?

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John, the first step is having a cool fortress


I think we all can agree that this is better than a mountain lair in Switzerland. Sure Switzerland has cachet but what is a mountain lair if 007 never shows up. At least my fortress was scaled by Sean Connery himself. Okay, I don’t have sharks with lasers but I do have a moat with ninjas. Ninjas beat trilingual minions cold.

Dear John, if you are going to take over the world it is best not to have Zeke and Timmy as henchmen. But I do envy the Swiss Cowbell Torture though.

 

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Change

How do people change?

I often thinks of Madison Avenue and how they try to change people’s habits. They go for the “bank shot” instead of logic. They sell the sizzle not the steak. They sell the mood not the make. I remember being a young child wanting the sugary cereal because of the commercials. Basically they were selling candy for breakfast. Also it has been an axiom with me that the worse the product the better the commercial. Those products like the lottery sell the win but never the lost.

In politics as in life the facts matter but it is not usually how things are sold. People buy dreams and love “fairy tales”. We never get far away from the child within us. The person with … Continue reading

I was surprised.

I talked to David L on the conference call. He told me a little about himself. It turns out he and Brent have a lot in common. I know you are thinking what I was thinking. OH NO!!!!! I thought before I would hang up out of instinct I should listen a little. It turns out that he is interesting, funny, and smart.

My Life of Sen

I was at the store buying some things and pulled out some change. As I was handing out the changed I noticed one of my 10 yen coins was not like another. (My Sock’s eyes are 10 yen coins.)  I looked at it and it said 50 SEN on it. I wondered where I got it.

For those who are ignorant, V and B, the sen was 100 to 1 yen. In the old days the yen was paper and the sen was a coin. Now the yen are coins up to 500 and paper after a 1000. There are no sen coins in circulation now. So I have a half a yen coin which would make it less than a penny.

I looked it up online and … Continue reading