Chancey

IIIII, NO TIPPING -"pathetic concept" period!???? You are pathetic you cheap bastard.! L-O-S-E-R!!!! Take my advice and avoid restraunt's and restraunt workers when you enter a country that adheres to tipping ways. YOU are the enemy (not to mention a cheap bastard). I would love to valet your car!! After crashing it into a wall and stealing your breath mints, I wouldn't expect your cheap ass to tip me. We will be even. Ketchi-san! When in Rome......less ketchi people. Please tip when tipping is appropriate. It is sometimes the r

Dims, where is the "surfhouse"? The North Shore should be crankin' by November. Did you catch any Ala Moana waves on the South side? Point Panick? I've been jonzing to catch some decent big waves. What else did you do in Hawaii??

alcohal abuse!

xxx, me too!!! My company just opened a NZ branch but I haven't visited yet. Can't wait!! Addressing the question: Japanese accomodations (biz hotels, ryokans, etc.) are expensive. I don't like that you have to pay PER PERSON per room. Is it like that in other countries??

Jared, yes! The guys or gals that get the jobs in the super expensive restraunts are the people at the top of their professions. They are the pro's in hospitality. It's not an easy job to get and is compensated accordingly (in tipping countries, of course).

cheapskates! Tipping is case by case. I'm not in favor of taxi or barber tipping. But in the the restaurant industry, in countries which do tip, you are a loser if you don't tip for satisfactory service. And 15% at that! If the service sucks, no tip is justified. But adequate or better service in tip countries is expcected, even depended on for people to be able to make a living. It's taxable income and not just a gratuity. The losers that leave the change in their pockets are just losers.

Delicious and addictive!

Have a nice weekend ya'll

Well, db, no, I wouldn't burn watermelons at my own home. Are you recyling your own aluminum or using the city sanitation services to collect your disposable goods? If so, you've probably got 3 choices of what to do with them; burnable, plastics, or cans/pet bottles. If you live in a more inaka area it might get more detailed like which color of glass, etc. So assuming your not living on the farm and have limited choices, were you really stumped by which one to make? Like I said, I didn't mean to offend. I thought the secret surprise answer was going to come up NON-BURNABLE and I'd b

I seriously thought this was a trick question. No offense inteded but why would you put a WM or any fruit in non-burnable? I agree db, about the cans, etc. My neighborhood is kind of strict and occasionally my gomi gets rejected. In most cases I don't for the life of me know why. so I wait 'till next week and put it in the gomi place at the building next to mine (the whole neigborhood seems to have picked this particular spot.) Oh, and I'm not kidding, there is a bed in there!

Better! They are getting more and more access to celebrity guest appearances it seems. And sometimes I'm actually shocked sometimes by which celebs decide to do a Simpson's show.

Answer your phone in English. Your Japanese friends will identify themselves. Or CAN these guys speak English???

Of course it depends on who you are when caught with that unlicensed gun. First offense, no prior record of criminal misconduct, etc, will get you a night or two in jail and a $100 or so fine. A slap on the wrist. Of course the guns for money program is on an amnesty basis. I know Whasington D.C. has picked up a lot of guns through these programs and then the guns are supposedly destroyed. It's just a dent in the supply. But one more gun off the street.. Obviously much more needs to be done.

I must say I live under the Jarad system. I have no problem shelling out real money for an emerging artist/band or a local favorite to offer my support. And I frequently do. But at the same time I have absolutely no problem downloading say a Beatles or Matchbox 20 song or say a marginally successful band that I just want to get a taste of b/f buying their CD (or not). If I download something I don't like it gets deleted. If I like it, sure I'll burn it but on many occasions go buy the cd to hear what else "they" got that isn't so popular as to be traded on Kazaa, etc.

Left handed writer. left handed mind. bat right(baseball). surf and board goofy. eat right (beers in my left). tv clicker right (again, beers in my left). My sister in-law is one of those "cured" Japanese lefties. I wonder if her parents secretly scorn my left handedness.

The guns for money programs initiated in some cities is a start.

Guns: Yes, really like that. Super easy to get and way too many availiable! If you know a guy who knows a guy....you can get a very cheap unregistered gun and at many different callibres. Also, small gun shops will often look the other way on registration requirements or totally bypass background checks in order to make some money and stay in business. Guns are out of controll in the U.S. in my opinion. The makers and the sellers feel unnaccountable for whatever happens to the guns they sell. Tighter controll of laws, stricter penalties for missuses, negligence, etc need to be taken more s

Yappari! Not so scary after all!

Well, let's hope none of us get wrapped around a tree!! It's not much fun.

It might not be. Although way less scary than that picture, I've seen barracuta surfing the same waves as I do.

I would STOP paying your National Health Insurance premiums (if it's at all possible). My wife (Japanese) uses it and I find mine to be much better (so does she). I use a NZ company called Global Health Care Limited. I've been with them for 3 years and they pay 100% in almost all of the claims I've made - and I've had many many claims. You have to be an expatriot or spouse/child of one. I pay around US$1300 per year but the beauty of it is it's more than just health insurance, it's also travel insurance, $10,000 life insurance, eye, dental, loss of income, and much much more. A

My very first snowboard came from ebay.

I usually fly Norhtwest Airlines. I had my bags delayed for up to two days on about 5 straight different flights. Each time I filled out the appropriate paper work and my bags eventually got back to me. Then on a flight from Alaska to Minneapolis, I had a bag never show up at all. I went through the procedures, filled out the forms, etc. Never came. I asked the airline to compensate me, logged my baggage contents and got the reply "We've noticed you've had several missing baggage claims..we have decided not to honor your claim." Woa! pissed off, I sued Northwest Airlines for the maximu

Viewers beware, that IS heavy. Is that funded by the Democratic party national advertising campaign fund?

Ocean 11, point taken but try realism. They would not have accepted amnetsty and gone peacefully. They would not have found peaceful residence in California. The delightful picture you're trying to paint is very abstract. OK, Picture Uday cruising around a free man in a Jag up and down Santa Monica Blvd. Money to burn, a good safe guy to call your neighbor. Pappa Hussein kicking it at his Beverly Hills pool with a new nickname 'Uncle Saddy', shopping at Wallmart on weekends while keeping a low profile. Qusay becomes a pharmacist. Meanwhile back in Iraq the people feel safe that th