fjef
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Posts posted by fjef
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No - my understanding is that 220V appliances are slightly cheaper in most cases - that is why 220V circuits exist in most Japanese homes for running major appliances - but there might be other factors like the age of the machine and the condition that it is in that have more influence over the cost of running it.
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At my wife's PTA meeting this week, it was announced that due to the extreme increase in the cost of kerosene (it has more than doubled in the last 2 years), it is now cheaper to turn on your electric heaters and ditch the kero heaters.
Our air-cons double as electric heaters and this is the first winter in 20 years in Japan that we have started to use air-cons for heaters because they are cheaper to run. Until now Kero fan heaters were the way to go.
What are you doing to keep warm this winter?
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If i was 22 again and heading to Japan for the first time and thinking about getting married, I'd be begging for criticism - not that at age 22 I'd listen!
There was no internet when I was 22 and doing roughly the same thing. <rant>Take the criticism and learn from it! Telling people to STFU because you don't like what you hear is not going to help you.</rant>
At 22, if you follow all the rules, the answer is usually 'no'. The trick is to 'listen' and LEARN how to break em...
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I wonder what Jesus would say about Chinese medicine?
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Originally Posted By: MamabearI just wish that people could exist in harmony - you know? Like have 20 people in a room, all great mates, but all with different perspectives on life, the universe and everything...
Put 20 top scientists in a room with different perspectives - like Physicists, Biologists, Chemists, Mathematicians etc and it would likely be a very interesting, productive discussion about life, the universe and everything - it happens all the time.
But put 20 devout religious people in a room - like Catholics, Protestants, Baptists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, with a smattering of people from their sub-denominations - to discuss life, the universe and everything and you better have metal detectors at the doors and security guards around to stop the violence - it happens all the time. -
Originally Posted By: Bushpigno, I am not saying that christian churches teach you can get into heaven with a "free ticket", but all the people I know do not say you can not be considered a good person in the eyes of the church unless you are a christian. That's just fugged up mate. Sounds like your experience of the church is quite different from mine. In any case, my experiences do not ring true to a lot of the stereotypes and complaints against christians.
I am not saying 'free ticket' - I am saying that if you are a person who has even better credentials than Mother Teresa at being 'good' and you simply reject Christ as millions of people do, the Christian church says you go to Hell. And I do agree with you that it is fugged up.
I don't think any accepted Christian church can or does teach anything different and can still be called Christian. The fact that many Christians do believe that 'good' people can go to Heaven is a different issue. According to Christian doctrine, the people who believe that are wrong - the official line says that if you reject Christ - yer doomed.
So, you can't be judged a 'good' person in the eyes of a Christian church unless you accept Christ at some point in your life (or in some kind of final judgement when you die according to some denominations). It all comes down to accepting Christ as your Savior.
I have had friends and relatives try and persuade me to get baptized 'just in case I am wrong' so I can hedge my bet. But I have faith that it would be a waste of time.
Maybe the Vicar can correct me if I misunderstood?
Note: I may have chosen the wrong person as an example - Mother Teresa had a few skeletons in her closet - there are a few books about her like this one: The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa In Theory And Practice, by Christopher Hitchens -
Originally Posted By: FossilI rebel at the thought that there is no 'design' in the universe and that conciousness is a random abberation.
That's interesting - I 'revel' at the thought that there is no 'design' in the universe and that conciousness is a random aberration. . . just one letter different and a whole different world view! -
Originally Posted By: Bushpig[quote=fjefThat people of faith(s) can be good should be obvious - but for many people of 'faith', the reverse is often harder to accept. Most religions do not teach or accept that non-believers can be good people. This is where a lot of problems start.
Well that certainly wasn't the case in the christian church I grew up in fjef. That was a given, and emphasised many times. Modern day christianity is, in many cases and in many demoninations, a lot different from how it was during the middle ages in terms of acceptance.
How much has this really changed? Modern churches might teach a higher level of tolerance toward people with different beliefs but I don't think they have gone as far as accepting non-believers as 'good' people who will go to Heaven.
My parents did not baptize me and were ostracized by some of their friends and most of our relatives because of it. I have chosen not to be baptized as an adult and I am often told that I am doomed to go to hell because of this choice. I don't think being good as a person is good enough according to what I was taught in church and by Christians.
I am quite comfortable with my decision to be doomed but it sure has upset a lot of Christians who know that I have made this choice. I don't want to be saved because I simply do not believe in it! Based on this alone, I have been told by ministers and church members that I cannot be considered a 'good' person in the eyes of the Christian church and I will be merrily on my way to Hell unless I accept Christ as my Savior.
Do you mean to say that your Christian church teaches that God will issue a ticket to Heaven to, for example, 98% of Japanese who are not Christian and all of the Muslims, Jews and thousands of other religious people and maybe even some homosexuals and adulterers who do not accept Christ as their savior? You were taught that some of these people will get a pass and get to Heaven anyway? Is it possible to be a 'good' person who rejects Christ and be allowed into Heaven? I don't think so....
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Originally Posted By: Mamabear
fjef,
Come on...
All human beings are born with an innate need for affirmation encouragement and support. Regardless of the Vicars strength of faith he will feel personal discomfort reading a lot of these replies.
That is normal, natural and human.
Hats off to the Vicar for taking the time and effort to read all the replies and get a sense of the opinions of 'the masses' despite being uncomfortable for him! Whether he agree's or disagree's with what has been said, he is taking the time to listen to you. You go Vic!
But if a person who calls himself a Vicar has enough faith to convince others to believe in God (isn't a Vicar a form of priest in most religions?), why would reading anything questioning that faith be uncomfortable? Seems to be quite the contradiction and that he should be quite comfortable - by definition - dealing with the subject matter. -
Originally Posted By: the snowboarding vicarI must sit down and read these comments all of which are interesting even if some make uncomfortable reading.
How could it be uncomfortable reading if you have faith?
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Originally Posted By: Rag-DollWonderful images.
This camera thingy might be good enough to see the Apollo landing sites. We might finally clear up the question of whether the Americans did get to the Moon. I wonder if some guys at NASA aren't furiously making calls to Japan to work out a deal!
Or maybe these are just more fakes too? -
Originally Posted By: BushpigI find it interesteing how a lot of people spout the "religion is illogical and their is no god" line.
Does "religion is illogical and {there} is a God" make more sense to you?
You mention that people should search for answers - and I think Soubs has clearly said that science now provides us with far more logical answers than religion - so why are you assuming that non-religious people have made their decision because they are lazy or blind? -
Originally Posted By: Mamabear
I hear what everyone is saying about the bad things that have happened, and about extremists - but I also know there are plenty of good people out there who have faith (whatever faith thiers is), who do not fit that profile. By all means be mad with the groups that have done wrong - but lets have an open mind and an open heart for individuals - our Snowboarding Vicar might be a REALLY great bloke!
That people of faith(s) can be good should be obvious - but for many people of 'faith', the reverse is often harder to accept. Most religions do not teach or accept that non-believers can be good people. This is where a lot of problems start. -
Originally Posted By: CrudzillaHaven't been to church since I realised that there is no god at the tender age of 15 or so
But if the original poster is still reading, then this might interest them... I was looking into Norikura and thinking of getting a season pass there when I found a gaijin run lodge up there called Northstar with a distinctly christian bent to it.
The guy who runs the lodge (with its own school, rentals and backcountry tours no less) also runs an organisation called Snowboarders for Christ (or the Japan chapter at least)
http://sfcjapan.com/
This must be a parody site - its really too bizarre to be real! Although I must admit that I remember seeing and talking to God personally a couple of times when I hit bumps at 100+ kms/hr on a downhill course when I was racing as a kid - but I haven't seem him/her in my life since then....!
I had a great religious upbringing - every Sunday from about age 13 to 16, my parents took my brother and sister and I to a different church/synagog/temple/mosque etc. in Canada. I had a chance to observe and participate in all kinds of different church experiences. We discussed these as a family and it was a really interesting exercise for all of us. I didn't hate 'going to church' as a kid - we actually looked forward to going to different churches every week and discussing all of their differences and similarities at the dinner table.
It became clear to me as a kid - first hand - how religions (and also racial/cultural differences) all attempted to be 'the only one' and/or that other beliefs were somehow evil. At a young age, I figured out on my own that none of them could be 'right' and it has helped me understand how messed up and dangerous religion can be in creating conflict in the world and setting a foundation for the way people (and peoples) view themselves and judge others. Even an innocent 'Sunday school' environment has a very powerful influence on kids...
I recommend anyone with religious beliefs to spend 'equal time' participating in other religions - or for parents - at least give your kids the opportunity to experience different religions and let them figure things out for themselves.
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I work with PCs and I play with Macs - I just don't get paid enough for it....
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A fast processor is crippled if it does not have enough ram - the prosessor will need to use your hard disk for virtual memory and this will slow everything the processor does way down. And all that extra disk activity is hard on the computer.
But even a fast processor and lots of ram will be crippled by a slow internet connection - best to have all 3 as fast as you can afford. With the configurations you listed, the ibook will be faster than the PowerBook given the amount of ram supporting the processors. But the PowerBook could be a bit faster with a minimum 1 GB of ram. And the PowerBook has a faster video set up.
512 kbs is considered 'high speed' in most of the world - we are really spoiled here in Japan. 512 kbs is fast enough for most things as long as the connection is not shared by too many activities or computers at the same time. If you try watching streaming SJ videos and downloading, um, some family videos or TV shows or any large files at the same time, or if you have 2 computers connected and downloading at the same time, it will slow right down. But if you do one thing at a time, things should work quite nicely.
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You will need to spend a few more extra bucks and get more ram for the PowerBook - 256 is barely enough ram to run Tiger and the machine will feel crippled. Boost it to 1 GB of Ram and it will keep you happy for many more years.
With the configuration you have to choose from, the iBook will be a much nicer Mac to use as is - if you don't add ram to the PowerBook.
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add Jef & Kaz
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Originally Posted By: spook
i'm young, i'm naive and i'm happy.
This is exactly why it helps to be protected - for when you are not. -
Originally Posted By: Domokun_72dpiWow.
What a sad world we are coming to, when they create stuff like this.
Sad? All those people with unhappy marriages now have a chance of moving on and having a better life! -
Hey - you're being humble - you were standing up on your first time out...
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This is my daily view....
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OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer
but if it was spam, it doesn't mean anything...
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Sending large attachments is simply not reliable - and the situation will probably get worse, not better...
or google 'send large files' - there are many services starting to deal with this and many are free.
Bit Torrent
in General off-topic discussions
Posted
is upgrading from 10.3 to 10.4 easy enough? and can i just nab 10.4 off a friend, or will using a pirate version cause all sorts of dramas?
Upgrade to 10.4.11 (make sure you prepare your disk first with disk utility) and your problems should be solved. No drama. I would wait for a few more updates before upgrading to 10.5 if your machine is fast enough to support it.