miteyak

Done a bit of checking, Plucky, and your safest bet in the developed world appears to be Northern Ireland. Forget Oz and NZ, they're dangerous places (more than the U.S.) As for the reality TV et al... that's pretty damn universal now.

Quote: But, "at 80% fat, should foie gras be classified as junk food?" [/QB] Absolutely... Comprehensive school meals... the biggest annoyance was, quite frankly, having to constantly ask the dinner lady to 'hold the foie gras' As an aside... comprehensive schools, always found THAT to be somewhat oxymoronic, esp. when they were a challenge to the ol' grammar school system.

Quote: Originally posted by me jane: My boss's wife regularly tells me how her husband sleeps in the children's room and she sleeps on the sofa. Is it just me, or does anyone else find the above statement to be particularly disturbing...

absolutely

I bought my geolander studless for a delica spacegear a few years ago... 60,000 yen from my mitsi dealer. It's worth checking around for a good deal.

What's dialup??? Yes, the folks computer link, probs all the way. Every time I send a picture to them (OK, two or three) their mail jams up and they have to get their local computer geek to clear their mail. It's a catch twenty two... because they don't have DSL, they don't get many benefits from the internet, and so they don't see the point of spending a few dollars more on the internet, because, well, what's the benefits??? I was going to pay a years sub. for mine, but then I left Japan and became very poor...

I thought 'pushing buttons' was the unofficial title of this thread...

I'm thinking a farm around here would be nice... (Mt. Wellington from Lucaston) A tasty weekend (kelly's special reserve pinot noir '03, Home Hill winery, Ranelagh; highly recommended... I know who's getting my first pay-check))

I mentioned it to the friendly Kookaburras in the neighbourhood, and the response was a rather prolonged cackling session. I haven't seen them since... Re: the tassie devil... a rather sad story; their numbers are dwindling rapidly as a suspected virus ravages through the population. The disease causes horrific growths and mutations. The ever increasing undevoured carrion strewn on the roadsides is testiment to the decline of a species that, previously, has been so prolific that they were considered a pest, and many died each year of starvation.

In an ideal world, fatts, in an ideal world...

Glad to be of service... more to come!

When we first arrived, we stayed at Mt. Nelson, but this place is actually in Taroona. I guess, technically, Taroona is at the base of Nelson however, so you're pretty spot on... the view's the same.

Leftovers from Japan... other than that, looking for work; casually right now, but will get serious when i've finished the contract stuff. If I can get my collective balls together though, I may just head out down the photography/design trail solo...

Fattwins, yes, from my office (second bedroom) window. I had to use a superwide lens for the shot, but the sea is actually much closer than it looks...

The 'Gaff' is just a rental for now... as we scout for a suitable. site. Nothing sustainable about this one whatsoever, but my financial status is making me a very low impact resident of this planet... Having said that, I think I'm right in saying that most of Tassie7s power comes form wind and hydro anyway. The meat and veggies are all local, however, and cheap if you go to the markets. Our monthly meat and veg bill runs to about 12,000 yen, and we eat a lot. The local wine is over-priced, but not too shoddy (it's pretty good actually, but limited to pinots and whites), so we'v

And a few of the locals... (aalthough the koala is technically an illegal immigrant...)

And Hobart from Mt. Welly...

I'm broke, but the views are good! Just for starters...

The story started as a good distraction to some rather tedious contract work, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to find something more stimulating... I'm off to buy some garden furniture... (talking of which, Ocean... I'm ready for another property pissing contest; this time I stand a chance!)

Your're most welcome, Slow... I'm sure you won't regret it.

Slow - that would have to be the Osprey Transporter. It comes in a 40 and 60 ltr model. It has a quality zipaway harness for carrying on your back, a good carrying handle, and a great padded foldover system for closing/altering the amount of baggage you carry. The bag maintains its shape regardless of amount you are carrying, and the bag provides great protection to goods inside. The 60 is the right dimensions to be carried as hand luggage to. Have used the bags (we got a matching set, the partner and I) for a good few SE Asian trips of up to two weeks (philipines, malaysia...) and they

Do a search for log cabins, hakuba on this site; it has a fudosan link. Obviously in nipponese, but, then, if it wasn't, then it would be, er...Niseko-like.

Yodogawa! Damn, your three months late with that reminder mate...

We left too quickly... If I'd had the time, I'd have sold all the electronics, and would definitely recommend the same. When trying to decide, I'd checked prices online, but on arriving found so much stuff to be had in clearances, bankrupt stock, auctions etc. pretty damn cheaply. Still, I had space in the container, and its not like one can just chuck stuff away, not in our neighbourhood, anyway...

Kicking myself for not buying them in Japan... Here in Australia, short of custom made (which I have done for sensitive stuff), I can only get 240-110v stepdown transformers. Does anyone know whether TVs, fridges, etc with 100v written on them can handle this voltage (110v), or is it worth the hassle to get the custom ones made. Anyone taken japanese stuff and used it in the U.S.? (which would be the same situation)