Back when we still watched TV, I channel surfed to some kind of Japanese program with the usual mix of ‘talent’ panelists talking with an invited guest, a youngish looking president of a family construction company. He was relaxed and friendly and handsome-ish, the kind of handsome that comes from […]
Japan Now
The COVID vaccination experience in Japan
I saw a well dressed man getting on the Yamanote train yesterday. He was youngish and looked very professional but stood jarringly out of place without a face mask. I have not seen a person without a face mask on any train in over a year. Then I remembered, almost […]
Culture Wars
Beware charismatic leaders; they won’t save us
I’m glad Paul Jorgensen is blogging more. Earlier posts (now gone) of the dirty BGP tricks China Telecom was playing alerted me to a huge security problem that no mainstream tech blogger covered and helped me track down the big Google BGP leak that brought down most of the Japanese […]
Culture Wars
The Buddha’s face is only seen thrice
There is a Japanese saying: the Buddha’s face is only seen thrice. It can also be roughly translated as: a person can only behave like a Buddha 3 times. It’s a reference to human nature that we humans aren’t always good at being good or following rules, or obeying COVID […]
Buddhism - Culture Wars
Remembering 3-11
A recent strong aftershock in a wide area beyond the Fukushima epicenter, that sicking feeling of a very different kind of earthquake, was a rude late night reminder that March 11, 2011 is never far away. 3-11 as the Japanese call it was terrifying on a ground floor Tokyo building, […]