midnightcharger2
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Posts posted by midnightcharger2
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Im in the market for a Pajero mini as it seems to fit my needs for all seasons. As being from the States, I am used to car books that have private sellers that are offering their cars up for sale. Doing the hunt now, I picked up 2 books here and they are geared towards car shops / lots.
As a general rule of thumb, shops will charge an arm and leg more then private sellers.
Is there any shops / places that can do the hunt for the vehicle I am looking for within my price range? I checked the Yahoo auctions in Japan, but most vehicles are out of range I.E. Tokyo / Osaka etc. for me to purchase.
My car related Kanji reading skills are adequate also if there are sites that anyone could advise - please pm or email at midnightcharger2(ATMARK)hotmail.com
Thanks for any help.
FRANK
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The object of my post wasnt to come off that marriage is bad, I realize its not in my interests anymore. My personal opinion only. No need to feel any pity for me. Some people realize that they must have a mental and physical bond to only one personn for the rest of their lives. If it works for them, GREAT!!!
people have different views about life. Back on topic with the *cheating* GN your comment is based on your opinion not fact or law. If you can show on paper a law universal based document that shows what constitutes "cheating" then you would prove me wrong. How comfortable the partners are with each other dictates the unwritten law of cheating. Perfect example while living in Japan. If husbands pay for sex, many spouses do not consider it cheating.
Each individual has their beliefs. There are many couples in this world that are comfortable sharing themselves with others even though in a committed relationship. Both partners could be extremely comfortable with this lifestyle. Is it still cheating? Some will say yes and some will say no, therefore there is no clear cut definition when talking about relationships on what really constitutes cheating.
My post was not to say that im just out for the sex, I like exploration. Each friend / partner I am with or have been with had destinctive qualities that they all dont share. I enjoy their friendship and like learning about each persons individual personalities whether its only outside the bedroom, or does eventually move there. The focus was that I myself and like minded people can do it without guilt.
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I love to talk about this with new girls. I am open about talking about being in multiple relations at the same time.
My view is when talking about the subject is,
Pick your most desired / loved thing in the world minus kids and family
(I usually relate to ice-cream when talking to the girls but could be anything)
"Could you eat the same type of ice-cream only for the rest of your life or occasionally do you like to try new flavors"
Some will say *YES* to only eating one flavor but most will say *NO*.
Now I know most people will say "There is no way in hell you can relate human relationships with food", but I beg to differ.
For the most part, people get bored with the old and look for new. Cars, phones, homes, jobs, etc. Why do most marriages fail, tired of the old and looking for something new and exciting.
Now being a bit more experienced in the world and out of a marriage, I thank my lucky stars that I am free to roam where I please, talk to whom I please, and do as I please. I believe now that all the relationship GF/FIANCEE/WIFE nonsense is just a way of social control.
Why have a contract for marriage if love should be enough to prove two people love each other. No one should have to prove it on paper.
As for the lovely word "Cheating", its an undefineable word when it comes to relationships. There is no clear cut definiton, just individual beliefs. It just seems to be another form of social control.
Using the term "cheating" in this situation. Why (pointing the finger mainly at the male population since the term usually is associated to men) do we cheat? A lesser emotional connection and more physical form of entertainment. Sex and love can be seperated easier for men then most women. In my opinion, as long as its practiced safely, Its the simplist form of pleasure and should not be complicated. Enjoy your life and expore it to your fullest as we only have one life to live.
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Yeah AK,
After 9mo still no licence. And im out around 5man and still where I was 9mo ago but colder now.
My last experience 1 month ago, I blew up at the kotsu anzen center (not smart, but I felt the need/urge)as the instructor said I drove good but I didnt pass the test. WTH.??? Probably wont help my chances next week to get a opportunity to pass.
After the test I told him I had taken over 14hrs (actually 7) of driving school course as to try to better my chance in obtaining the license as I know the major issue about that place is "waiting and paying for your license".
The things I was told I failed on, is exact opposite of what the driving school teaches. The test instructor told me that "The driving schools system of teaching and the actual test for what they are looking for differs" OK??? Why am I going to a driving school if they are teaching me to fail?? The system is completely jaded.
But if I recall correctly AK, you are from the UK, it would be just a matter of changing over your license, no tests. Being from the US myself is why im completely screwed and at the mercy of one person in this country. It's totally screwing with my work and my snowboard season. EOR.
FRANK
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surprised no one mentioned TEACH ENGLISH to the gent.
Depending on where you work, you get as much of a workout as is your snowboarding.
143 KM logged on my bike alone this week from running around Nagano to get to my schools.
FRANK
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Had one experience for about 5min in a club. Girl I knew called me and told me to come to the place she worked. I was looking for new hang-out spots, so I showed up to her place thinking it was a bar (non-hostess type). When inside, sat down and talked to her for a min or so, then she said it would cost 6000/hr to drink with her. Now mind you I knew her for quite some time, so I told her she wasn't worth 6000 and left. That was the last time I talked to her. Seriously, why would I pay money to talk to someone that I could talk to normally for free?
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I have two options at the moment. 1. is to try and send it into the shop and get it repaired
2. A friend and long time rider informed me that in the past with bad gouges like mine, plastic bottles as like shampoo bottles are make up of the same material. Liquidfying the plastic bottle (paying particular attention not to inhale the fumes)in a small aluminum can over a bunsen burner and having the board base preheated while pouring in the hot plastic will actually bond pretty well as give it the necessary flex when it hardens as it is a soft plastic. He mentioned that it will actually structure well enough to hold wax also. That is worth a try i imagine.
Had to fill it with drip in black ptex candles and that adds insult to injury. Besides since its in a high flex area the ptex cracks under the first run and constantly needs to be redone. But at least the gouge didnt hit the core and its still got 100 percent integrity.
But back on the Nidecker. Yeah ranged at 6man if I remember so I am going to blow some spare cash on that board as my spare.
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6'5" or 190 cm as of height so yeah I am the Jolly Giant. Major concern was that I bought a Burton baron ES last year that ran a high amount of cash and tore a nice gouge out of the base from a (box rail that wasnt bent fully down???) and the gouge runs about 20cm down the length of the board. No need to spend 700 on a board again as if I cant get my old board fixed,its toasted which = wasted cash.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m248/midnightcharger2/070204_14510001.jpg
Picture of my fallen soldier.
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in the market for another board and came across a 163 board (forgot the model name. Price is down to 24000 from 55000 but curious on the build quality of the maker. I am an intermediate rider still on the learning curve. Primary use will be the park to learn boxes rails and jumps. Was listed as a med-flex board.
Any input??
Thanks FRANK
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Wish the best for the Nova crew since I have many friends in a bad situation now.
But, even if a sponsor is found, how many teachers / staff / students do you think would return to the prior schools, after such a downfall.
Even if they were to restructure, would'nt people walking into the prior named Nova school no matter what its new name would be still see it as Nova?
It's popular talk around these parts and not much if any is good talk from the locals.
Will be one of those things to sit back and see how it plays out.
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Olympic sports in Shinoni is the best all around with ski/board equip and wear. They always seem to have deep discounts on wear.
Sports depot and Xebio are second all around especially if your looking for top name gear, but expect to pay the price for it.
El dorado is kinda dead with very little stock of anything.
Schnieders is good but I forgot where its at.
Would like to know where Wagodo is also.
Best option also is Yahoo auctions. you can find all types of equip usually cheaper then retail and shipping very cheap even from far off places. Payment through the ATM is easy (furikomi).
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geez, you think that they would want to sell tickets knowing that people live for winter sports here. Guess the second best is the premium pass as 47 is now at 55000 for a season pass. The extra 15000 is worth it to have shiga included.
With about 8 weeks of vacation in december to January, I will definitely make up the price of the ticket in a matter of 2-3 weeks.
Can the premium pass be bought through Hakuba. The website was pretty vague on details on where to contact for payment.
FRANk
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Hey fatts,
Did you ever get around to buying your wii from back home?(sorry for the off-topic chatter)
I am looking to get a happy 7 ticket. I seen the link to the premium pass for Hak / goryu and Shiga. But is there a price available / link for the season happy 7 pass.
Looking foward to a epic season.
Frank
midnightcharger2(at)hotmail.com
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Welcome to the wonderful world of "leave your logic at the door"
I came across a friend here in Nagano city, and the guy was paranoid of trying to date girls. WHY??? The company he works for says that he is allowed one girlfriend, but if they find out he is messing around or talking to many girls, he will get fired.
Make any sense???
I can understand if they were the companies students, but many (not all) companies here have very little to no legal respect for their foreign workers along with their Japanese staff also. There are laws that are written but rarely enforced.
As I can understand the situation with two gaijin dating but working in seperate schools being a problem for some employers, your private life is just that, private. They had no right asking if you were dating / married. Lesson learned for the next search.
Be wary of any questions companies look to you for answers, many times there is a hidden meaning through a simple harmless question.
Another piece of advice, dont go looking for work together at the same places at the same time. Split your searches and swap, but never go together.
Also, this is kind of a bad time of the season for job searching. Most contracts end around Jan / Feb and renew during March at many of the schools. Plus the NOVA debacle will cause alot of chaos of foreigners looking for new places of employment in the following months if the company plunges off the deep-end.
Keep up the good fight though, There is always work here if you search long and hard for it.
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I have had almost all the licenses in the states you can imagine when dealing with vehicles. From the military carrying over 50tons of cargo, Jet fuel JP-8 (highly flammable) to personnel transport. 18 wheeler heavy hauling when I got out of the miltary etc.
The bugger of it all is that I drove both a personal vehicle and military equipment in Okinawa for 3 years. We were not required to get a Japanese license since we had a SOFA (status of foreign affairs) agreement with Japan. We got a small written test comparable to the one in Nagano-ken dmv and got a small index card with our information printed on it for our drivers license.
very easy and hassle free.
The thing that irks me the most is how they down-talk to you like you have absolutely no idea about what goes on in Japan.
It was so rediculous that the instructor had some wooden toys depicting people and children and a block of wood painted as a car. He continually was ramming the toy car into the makeshift people to try to explain the importance of driving safety to not hit pedestrians.
I felt like i was being treated as a 3 year old. I wanted to show my exsiting scars from my accident with a J-driver (which was clearly his fault stated by the police report) to the instructor to prove that if anyone knows about wanting to be a safe driver, i am that person. I was lucky to walk away with minor injuries, The driver could have killed me.
The slipping cash to the instuctor has crossed my mind. My other option was to videotape the instructors in their cars and note all mistakes they make during their daily driving and use it against them to prove its only about the center making money, not actually abot driving safety. If they are instructors, they sould be setting the example during work and after work therefore they should be the perfect driver themselves.
I guess i would be less irritated about the situation if I knew that I didnt have to wait 2 months each time before taking the test again. The money is of no issue to me, but the waiting and uncertainty of when I will be deemed safe for Japans roads by one individual is what has made completely peeved lately.
EOR for tonight.
On a side note, saw my first soccer game today at nagano stadium. Not a fan of soccer but went with my friend and was pretty interesting. Nagano got their a$$ handed to them by Matsumoto 3-0.
I was on the Matsumoto side (but had no preference of who won) Visually the Matsu fans put on a bigger show then the Nagano fans. They fully got into supporting their team. Was a good day of videoing the action with my new camera.
Thanks for the help guys and girls. If anyone has obtained their motorcycle license here or went to shiojiri instead of their -shi center for testing and has any input, it would be highly appriciated.
FRANK RYAN
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Some things get to you like no other.
Learning now that procrastination is a killer in this country, I am learning the hard way. And I have been around the culture for 5 years now.
I knew from prior knowledge that the Kotsu Anzen Center (Japan Motor vehicle and licensing center) can be a real bitch but never knew it was worse then I expected.
Passed the paper test which was a joke no problems. Driving course is a whole different ball of wax. I failed the first time, I knew that it would happen since its a formality. took a few classes to learn the course in the midst of my 2month waiting period.
I could have literally been pushing the car around the course faster then I was driving and failed again. There were 7 other people from different countries that failed too. 8 PEOPLE and NO ONE passes. I took a glance at all the peoples paperwork and on average they have been there over 5 times. This is troubling due to having to wait 2 months every time you fail the test. I am worried I will have to wait over a year to obtain a d/l. The question I have is, I live in Nagano which shinoni is the closest center. Can I go to other centers to apply within nagano-ken to better my odds in passing?
The system is more screwed up then I imagined. You can drive on a IDL for a year no checks needed, but as soon as it expires your an idiot that has no clue on the driving rules in Japan. Makes absolutely no sense at all. As with any system its usually about money which I understand but the 2mo waiting after each test is a real killer. I heard shirojiri may be an option but unsure. I want to work on both a car and motorcycle license in hopes of having some type of vehicle to move around on.
Any help on alternatives would be of great help.
FRANK RYAN
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Heres addition to the list
Japanese style toilets. Its 2007 people. I always worry I'm going to spring a leak on my clothes. I Highly avoid using those toilets.
Having a car with a loud exhaust is a no-no but all the annoying trucks with blairing speakers for politicians, recycling and my personal favorite the Petrol truck that rolls around my neighborhood at 7am to 9am in the morning with the repeatitive music.
Holding hands in public is ok (showing affection) but kissing totally taboo even for a quick peck on the cheek.
HOUSES (The biggie)
The color of houses, Never paid attention to it before until recently but majority of buildings, houses and apartments come in one of 3 colors, grey, white or bland yellow.
The ability of ones house to be its own perpetual landfill. Recycling here is the worst.
The western style home toilets here. Many houses are equipped with toilet seats that NASA would be envy of. I cannot come to grips with how much people spend for this item when all you use it for at most is 5-10min a day.
Paper thin walls on houses. Totally un-economical. How does using keorsene for winter make up the long time cost of not installing insulation in the walls. It would also help dampen the likelyhood of knowing the exact time in the morning your nextdoor neighbor takes a crap on his space age toilet seat.
Sorry but I have a deep rooted dislike for houses in Japan.
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Thanks for the input gamera. Just the thing I was looking for. Hope this stint of biking to work everywhere is only for a short time.
Its spring and time to get on my trusty Yamaha R6 but only when I secure my license....
Thanks again for your help.
FRANK
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sorry dont know how this got started in a seperate post. I was trying to reply on my thread about train maps. Sorry
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Bit of a pain and many kilo's of riding but I got most of the kinks in my travels worked out. for what it is worth MARUKO city in Ueda is a terrible place to live if you dont have a car. Glad I dont live there.
I confirmed that with the police after they stopped me on my bike last night that getting to Maruko from Ueda there is nearly no public transport to get up into their mountain. I got a resounding NAI NAI NAI after asking if there were buses or trains that ran up the mountain. One spoken NAI to me means "no" but 3X NAI's means "are you crazy?" Gotta work on my menkyo FAST!!!!
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My new work is requiring me to tavel between schools in the nagano city to ueda areas. This job really requires a car but I am super-trooping it by railway and bike till I can secure my Japanese drivers license.
I was wondering if anyone knows any websites that pull up station stop maps to help me route my schools to stations better.
I went to the JR railways website but they do not have maps of the train routes. I am using their hyperdia search to locate known station names from STATION A to STATION B that may be closest but its kinda a pain since there may be a closer station to the particular school then what I will be currently using.
Any help would be mucho appriciated.
Thanks FRANK
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Yeah, but 2500 yen for my project was sufficient. And about 2 hours of my time. I miss tinkering in my workshop at my old house in the states so I needed somthing at the time to keep me busy and imaginative. I miss the good ol days sometimes.
If I was in the states I would pursue making my own homemade snowboards in my garage but would never attemt that kind of project in Japan due to space and time restraints. Kinda bums me at times of how life restricting Japan can be at times.
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Most dvd players on the market can be upgraded to be region free by doing a search on the net. You can input a special key assignment from the remote control that will bring up secret menu's to change the region. Others require a special program that programs through the IR port. PDA devices can run this program and re-flash your player. The best solution is to burn your movies as region free from your computer. This is the best option and the easiest.
Wii vs PS3 vs Xbox360
in General off-topic discussions
Posted
If anyone needs advice on a console to choose, I am a console junkie since electronics are my hobby. I would say that the wii and 360 are clear winners in choice for game console picks for reasons I cant explain on the fourms.