In the past year I have experimented with fly fishing via bicycle within the city limits of Sapporo. Slowly I began assembling the gear necessary to get me from apartment to stream as swiftly as possible. It has been a slow process, filled with trial and error.(See my previous post about what I started out […]
I’ve added some real depth to my micro man cave this past year. Two massive Nanoblock projects in particular really tied the shelf together: the T-Rex and Human Body skeletons! I’ve pretty much taken over all my wife’s space on this shelf, so my micro-man cave has kind of hit maximum threshold. Thank goodness Sapporo […]
Sometimes wading through Japan’s obsession with bizarrely flavored snacks, you come across a true gem. Today I present pickle flavored potato chips! When I saw these I couldn’t believe my eyes. Dill pickles, like the ones featured on the package, aren’t exactly a staple of the Japanese diet. So I was a bit suspicious. But […]
This might hit some of you pretty hard, but it’s time I give some of you the lowdown on living in Japan as an English language teacher and how that relates to maintaining financial security. These words might hold true for most types of expats in Japan, but especially for those navigating the unlucrative ESL […]
Japan, you finally did it. Congratulations! A sour plum infused Dorito. The world was waiting and you responded, with authority. Not just any sour plum flavour, super strong sour plum! Thank god! We all were wondering when Frito Lay would finally start to innovate. To be honest, these weren’t half as bad as they sound. […]
Way back I wrote about how my disgust for Windows XP’s language region lock down, caused me to shun proprietary software, embrace GNU/Linux, and extend the life and capabilities of my low spec Toshiba netbook. This in turn got be further entrenched in the open source world, where I found the Raspberry Pi. My first […]
With only four primary brewers battling it out for supremacy amongst Japanese consumers, and a micobrew scene that remains straight jacketed by anachronistic laws, Japanese marketing has to really pull out all stops to distinguish themselves on the supermarket shelf. Kirin decided to really turn on the Hokkaido charm by featuring the winding Chitose River, […]
The Second World War by Antony Beevor My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book took my literary Stockholm Syndrome to a whole new level. After nearly three years by my bedside, I am finally done with this agonizingly long tome. Agonizing in a good way I suppose. But if your looking for a quick […]
When I need a creative jump start I always turn my trusty friend Nanoblock. Even though it isn’t creative in an end of itself, the act of “doing” brings other creative endevours to the surface. And Nanoblocks, with their hundreds of tiny frustrating pieces, all seperated haphazardly into small plastic bags, makes for the perfect […]
Each evening I walk the dog around 9 o’clock. It’s a bitterly cold walk in the winter. There are few interesting sites to see along the way. But recently this phone booth caught my eye. I love how the snow cocoons itself around the glass. Sometimes, if the snow has recently fallen, the door is […]