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Japanese T-Shirts 6

August 28, 2010

I think this is the sixth installment.

  1. “NERD”: worn by young woman of average appearance
  2. “Fuck Stanford”: worn by man in his late 20s, perhaps a Korean exchange student

Filed under: Japan, People | Comments (0)

French Military History

August 12, 2010

So it is alleged to be.

Filed under: Academe | Comments (0)

Before and After

August 4, 2010

Shots of places today with their World War Two photos overlaid in places. Very slick!

Filed under: Photography, Stimuli | Comments (0)

An American Mother

July 25, 2010

I was touched by this recounting of Michael Malone’s mother, and father.

Filed under: People | Comments (1)

Sue the Law Schools!

July 25, 2010

That’s what one kid is trying to do. Go for it, buddy, and use a public defender, as I’m guessing you were at a public university.

Filed under: Academe, Crime | Comments (0)

Tertiary Dropouts

July 24, 2010

The other night I was watching TV news and caught a report saying that one in eight students at a university, junior college, or vocational school will drop out. Most will go on to do little, often becoming “freeters” who work number of part-time jobs or NEETs, the unemployed do-nothings who sponge off their parents. Apparently many see no point in studying, as employment prospects are poor. Others develop great anxieties and simply have to quit.

Throw in the demographics indicating declining student enrollments and tertiary education in Japan is facing a very dim future.

Filed under: Academe, Japan | Comments (0)

Past IQ

July 16, 2010

Not that it mattes, but I found some old records and was scored with an IQ of 131 at age 9, 9 months, and 1 day.

Filed under: Stimuli | Comments (0)

Hoodoo Gurus – Leilani

July 5, 2010

I’ve always liked this song involving love and tribal sacrifice.

Filed under: Song o' the Week | Comments (0)

Enigma Simulator

July 3, 2010

A friend notified me of this gem: a simulator of Enigma, the National Socialists’ famous coding machine. I’ve not played with it yet, since I have other things to do. However, I did enjoy the encryption portion of the ASVAB, so this will likely be fun as well.

Filed under: Internet, Tech | Comments (0)

Death Optional Architecture

July 2, 2010

Really. Except the architect died anyway. It’s called biotopology. Were I to live in a house like this, I’d probably take my own life.

Filed under: People, Policy, Stimuli | Comments (0)

Plug the Hole

July 1, 2010

I have been following the BP oil leak with only minimal interest, but I do like this solution sent to me by a dear friend: win–win!

  1. Gushing oil hole plugged? Check!
  2. Exploding red ink budget hole plugged? Check!
  3. Congresscritters plugged? Check!

Plug_leak-2010-07-1-11-52.jpg

Filed under: Gallimaufry, Stimuli | Comments (0)

Big Black – Racer X

June 28, 2010

I always liked Speed Racer as a child, but I never knew Racer X’s deep dark secret:

Racer X keeps his speed
In a little glass jar

Filed under: Song o' the Week | Comments (0)

Our Amazing World

June 27, 2010

Two very quick bits. First we have the amazing world of debt put into perspective by The Economist with its World debt map. Take a look to see how doomed your nation is.

But don’t let that get you down, for some people have striven to make death optional. In the article “Japanese architect had ‘decided not to die,’” we have the following quote:

Arakawa, who has died aged 73, was an artist, designer and architect who believed that he could live forever by challenging “comfortable” interaction with the world.
With his wife, Madeline Gins, he sought to establish a new and “tentative” relationship between people and their surroundings that would be literally rejuvenating. “We have decided not to die,” the couple noted on their website. “Death is old-fashioned.”

Filed under: Health, Japan, Money, Policy, Stimuli | Comments (0)