brett_jackson

My partner and I stayed at Shimizu, in Kyoto last month for 3 nights: http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/kyoto/shimizu.htm It was really, really nice. The people are really friendly, and the place is nice, clean, comfortable and seemingly new. Apparently it's a 'modern' Ryokan. The only difference I noticed is there was no little maid to take us to our rooms, and our beds always stayed out (we could put them away if we wanted). But the Tatami was there, we slept on futons, wore the slippers etc. It's about 5 - 10 minutes walk north of Kyoto Station, in a little alley. They even le

As often as my prescription of uppers allows.

Quote: Is it actually possible to "turn off" the internet? If it were possible to systematically and simultaneously shutdown every webserver on the planet, then yes - it would be possible. Severe cometary/asteroidal impact ought to do a similar thing.

Quote: I'd just hate to think that we die and that is it. There is too much out there that refutes this. I'm just curious ... what is out there that refutes this? Personally, I'm half way between agnostic and atheism - that is I beleive you can't prove there is a god just as much as you can't prove there isn't ... but the scientist in me is leaning towards there not being one. I'm with Darwin in that we evolved via natural selection, and the only big question to me is why did the universe begin?

I was in that area on Monday - got there by getting off the Chuo line at Ochanomizu station (JR ... had a rail pass) coming out the west exit, then walked south down the hill away from the river. After about 300m I got to a 5 way intersection, which marks the west end of this amazing snowsports shopping strip. About 30 or more stores to choose from. I am 186cm, 95kgs with a size US 12 - 12.5 shoe. I had a lot of trouble finding size 30 - 30.5 boots (which I was looking for). I got lots of the cross-arm "sold out' lines from staff, amidst giggles at the thought of such a big foot. I

I was in Hakuba last week (Mon/Tue). Went snowboarding at Tsugaike on the Tue - they only had one of their topmost runs open. Indeed, I was expecting much more snow when I arrived but 'some snow' is better than 'no snow at all' so I made the most of it. About 5 - 10 fresh cms on top of a rock hard icy layer. My knee is still bruised from a fall, but it was still great to get some boarding in during a time of year I'm normally at home swimming in the ocean. Thanks to Dave & Monty at Evergreen in Hakuba for helping to make our time there fun despite the lack of snow

I was given some for Xmas while in Japan (along with some Poifull Jellybeans and Choco Pies). I took them throuch customs yesterday upon arriving back in Australia and the customs guys thought it was hilarious ... a confectionary for men. I don't mind them, though I prefer the pretzel sticks with the chocolate on the inside more.

I've been using it for about 6 months. It's awesome. As more and more people around the world get high speed internet, I imagine telecommunication company share prices falling somewhat (well, those that don't offer high speed internet anyway) For internet telephony, there's also Firelfy ( http://www.virbiage.com/firefly/index.php ) which enables you to call any phone on the planet from your PC. I was making calls to mobiles in Australia on Xmas day from Kobe and I think it was less than 30c a minute.

It may have been awarded a PhD, but it doesn't change the fact that it's completely sick.

Quote: Bloody amazing to watch though, isn't it. Indeed. Awesome to listen to as well.

If you can get decent internet access, then you can talk to anyone else anywhere in the world who also has decent internet access using Skype . I use it all the time - it's clearer than a phone. Even better you can run MSN with a webcam at the same time and have a video phone call. All for free (well, other than the cost of ISP). I also think there's software that lets you dial a landline from your computer. A friend in Kobe does it with all her Oz friends. It's like, 2c a minute. Not as clear as Skype, but you only need one computer with ISP.

The Truly Big Dump will probably come sometime after the Truly Uninspiring Routine Dump, and probably before the Ballistic Inconceivably Gargantuan Stupendously Huge Inundating Torrent.

That's an interesting read Mr Wiggles. I've actually not heard of this place until reading that article and doing a quick Google to find out more. I read that yasukuni jinja is a different experience to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, which I will be visiting in a week or two when I get to Japan. Is that true? And if so in what way? Is it that one shrine focuses on war and the other on peace?

Great shots guys. Looks like you had fun. Just curiously, how far did you have to travel on foot before you could strap on the skis?

I'll be there on the 20th Telleboy. You seem to be a man of all talents (dog sleighing included), so can you organise about another foot or two of fresh powder before I arrive? Payment on arrival of course - I can bring you a six pack of good ole NZ Steinlagers or some Monteith's if you come through

It's not 'The Dead Zone' is it? http://imdb.com/title/tt0085407/ Though I don't remember any destructions of cathedrals.... but the rest of it sounds right.

So I guess that'll be an easy way to spot you when I'm in Hakuba in 3 weeks. Can she drag someone on a snowboard too? I would imagine that'd be like wakeboarding ... only with a dog and snow instead of a boat and water.

Some other facts: - A lightning strike on average is around 8,000 degrees celcius (though some have been measured at 50,000 deg C - 4 times hotter than chronosphere of sun), and is only 5 to 8cm in diameter. - This temperature can also be attributed to the 'exploding clothes' phenomenon, since any water on the human will instantly turn to steam and expand away from the body rapidly (doesn't sounds as cool as tsondaboy's explanation though) - The sudden heating and ionizing of the air around a strike causes an explosive expansion: thunder. - Before being struck, and sometimes withou

If you hate TV advertisements, you can quite easily build your own PVR (Personal Video Recorder), which is essentially a computer that captures incoming Digital/Analogue TV signals and records them on a hard-disk for playback. The really cool part is you can configure it to completely ignore commercials when recording, or even stop them from appearing on your TV while watching in normal time. It's similar to 'Tivo' in the US, only you don't pay a subscription fee, and you can hack it to do whatever you want (whereas Tivo are in bed with the advertising companies). Very cool con

How to reduce beer belly: Desist consumption of beer, along with saturated fats & sugary food/drinks (which usually go along with beer consumption). Increase consumtpion of fruits, vegetables & legumes. Reduce Dairy intake. Excercise lots. Do this for the rest of your life. (Perhaps if you do everything else, beer might be do-able)

As far as I'm aware, the only way you'd be able to tell the difference is if you took the 'money shot' and placed it under a microscope. Instead of lots of wriggling tails in goo, there'd be nothing but goo. This really has de-generated. Perhaps we should revert back to the actual topic? How's Telleboy's dog doing I wonder?

There's no 'party pooper-ing' to it badmigraine - you hit the nail dead on the head. Law violations that have the potential to cause harm to others, especially involving motor vehicles, should be taken very seriously. I probably should have made myself clearer when I mentioned police/state governments being interested in revenue collection more than safety - I was thinking more of the petty offences like parking fines, being in posession of enough drugs to get yourself and nobody else high, or doing 5km/h over a 100km/h speed limit in the middle of nowhere, at 4 in the morning, on a dead,

Indosnm - you're right about the cops, though the state governments are also the ones pushing revenue collection in my opinion. Regardless, if I were to be living in SA right now, I'd probably try and live somewhere near the Coopers Brewery, perhaps see if they can run a line of Pale Ale directly to my house instead of the water mains. They can do that ... right?

> Geez, things have got tight in Oz. I guess the growing road toll might have something to do with that, and the fact that a large percentage of those deaths can in some way be attributed to alcohol (the rest is probably made up by speeding 'P' platers and bloody urban 4WD's A.K.A. Toorak Tractors) Did you know they're bringing out substance testing soon? I have a freind who is involved in testing the various machines they're going to use. I don't know the threshold, or whether it's going to be zero tolerance. But needless to say, all my dope smoking friends who think they're much

"cellar door"