Being a bibliophile (and a history nut), I got some new books. (Surprised?) - The Greatest Nobodies in History, by Adrian Bliss; - A History of Britain in Ten Enemies, by Terry Deary; - The Rest is History Returns, by Tom Holland and Dominic Halbrook. The first one is enjoyable, but rather overstays its welcome. The second is ... I haven't finished chapter 1 yet, but it's fun if, like me, you enjoy puns. I haven't started the third yet, but I enjoyed Tom and Dom's earlier work, so it should be good.
Bought a new laptop, and some stylus pens to go with it. Also bought a proper surge protector for my laptop and internet router.
Finaly got all eighteen pushrod tubes for an EVO Harley. I'm making a wall hanging art piece of a nine cylinder radial based on the Harley front cylinder with ABS barrels, lifter blocks and heads. The rocker boxes are real and bead blasted to give it a vintage look and the cylinder case is MDF while the prop gearbox and supercharger housing are ABS cast.
A new car for my wife. She's needed one for a bit, but her old one refused to die, but with the import tariffs expected to blow up the auto market, I was like, yeah, let's get this done BEFORE they cost 25% more to ship across the border. The sales dude was kind of vague on how they thought that shit sandwich was going to play out. Then after we signed I was like, okay, now tell me the truth, because I know you dingdongs are having emergency meetings every morning about impact, strategies, and whatnot. He kind of smiled and said, yeah, this was a good week to buy a car.
Well, this is a post about what we won't be buying. My nephew works for the LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario). They've been ordered to take all American liquor and wine off the shelves.
Which might actually benefit me by eliminating demand. I'd spend $50K on heavily allocated bourbon and Napa cabs if they're willing to discount it appropriately. Not for personal consumption, I should add. Haha. Purely entrepreneurial.
Oh, Lord. Not only does this tickle my funny bone, but also reminds me of an exchange from Trial by Jury, the first (and shortest, and one of the silliest-but-in-a-fun-way) Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. The Defendant (Tenor) is being sued by the Plaintiff (Soprano) because, having led her on, he found someone else, and now refuses to marry the Plaintiff. (Jerk). So, Jerk Tenor offers to marry the Soprano today ... and to marry his new "girlfriend" tomorrow. Then we get this: Judge. This seems a reasonable proposition, to which, I think, your client may agree; Counsel for the Plaintiff. (referring to law book) But, I submit, m'lud, with all submission, To marry two at once - (beat) is Burglaree! (Yes, I know it's spelled "Burglary". But it's sung that way to rhyme with "agree"). But coming back to the point, I really doubt Homer would marry the new car, 'til death us do part. That's a level of commitment I just can't imagine.
Ha Ha. I've known lots of men married to their cars. Or maybe its just their girlfriend since they seemed to treat the car with more love and care sometimes.
Yes, but I had a mental picture of a man actually marrying his car. You know, walking down the aisle with it -- "who gives away this vehicle to be wedded in holy matrimony?" -- and so on. I thought that kind of thing would only happen in cartoons, but I've heard of cases of a woman who married a rock or a man who married a tree. Compared to that, marrying your car doesn't seem so outlandish. Pardon? Could you please expand on this? (I hope you don't have tonsilitis on top of your flu -- that would suck).
He spent the morning taking the bottles off the shelf and the later part of the day putting the bottles back.
1 US dollar is worth about 1450 South Korean won. I only know this from watching Squid Games and googling three or four times an episode.
Damn. Back when I was a baby jarhead it was about 800/dollar. Then when I was in university and had a Korean roommate and the Asian financial crisis hit. It went pretty much literally overnight from 850-1290/dollar. Poor dude's parents were supporting him and all the sudden everything went up by 50%. Kinda sorta just like the yen in the past couple years. Fuckers in the Diet are still on the "rich country, poor people" economic theory of as long as the corpocratic state can afford the raw materials to turn into Toyotas and the population isn't actually starving, the nation is in perfect condition. Look at this from about February of 2022. Remember that every time the line goes up, Iain can afford less.
Are you living South Korea, Iain? Sorry, it's hard to tell when your "Location" tag says "Face down in the dirt". =(
Ah, OK. What an odd coincidence: after visiting the UK and Italy (as a tourist), I thought I might like to see Japan because I studied its history (particularly the Sengoku Wars that led up to the Edo period and beyond). So, I would very much like to see the museums and the old castles (although only a dozen 'original' castles, i.e. not modern reconstructions, are still standing). Perhaps I could even speak to a blacksmith (if I can find one). One of the things standing in the way is the fact that I don't know Japanese, alas. =( I only know a few words, names, and concepts. So, I was told that if I want to visit Japan, I should join a tour group. Is such a thing mandatory? *curious* When I was in the UK and Italy, I went by myself - but, of course, there was no language barrier in the UK. I don't know much Italian either, but I managed to get by with google translate. Would it be more difficult in Japan?
Picking up my wife from her laboratory, I parked in my usual haunt near a large trash bin and a recycling bin. I noticed a black desk chair outside the trash bin. It had a green sticker on it, "No biohazards, safe to discard." A very nice chair, no obvious flaws or issues, no upholstery to be contaminated or anything. So I brought it home and replaced my second-hand desk chair, which a back that no longer stayed upright. The "new" chair is absolutely perfect. And, as I write this, I realize it could be the entry point to a sci-fi story about a hidden biohazard or alien life-form a la Dr. Who.
As long as you stick to the major areas you can get by without much Japanese. I do . I don't like tour groups and only use them in foreign countries when it's mandatory (like, only guided tours allowed). You'll miss out on some stuff, but in my experience guided tours make sure you miss out on anything that doesn't earn the tour company money directly, so... But the train signs are all in English, the ticket machines are switchable, the ATMs have English as an option, many restaurants in the major cites offer English menus (of varying accuracy and comprehensibility). You won't find many people who can do English, but you can get by. ETA: Himeji castle is cool if you've got no mobility issues. Expect to spend a lot of time climbing very smooth, very steep wooden stairs in your socks. Osaka castle is okay from the outside, inside the view from the top is nice but the interior is all a concrete, undersized reproduction and the museum it houses kinda sucks. Not recommended, no one believes me, everyone wants to see it, everyone agrees after spending the time and money to go in. Sigh. Kinkakuji in Kyoto is nice. Tofukuji is nice, especially during leaf changing season. Osaka Castle Park during plum and cherry blossom seasons is really beautiful. The Hiroshima Peace Park and museum is... one hell of an impact. I don't know much about Tokyo, spent two nights there twenty years ago. If you have specific Kansai questions PM me and I'll do my best.
But Naomasa298 can afford more, so swings and roundabouts as they say. This is going to be a problem for me. I managed Hikone Castle, but I had two legs back then. Agreed on Osaka castle. I mean, the fortifications are impressive, but the tenshu... meh. The same really with most of the other reconstructed castles. I don't get why Japan designates them important cultural properties. I mean, you know, if you hadn't pulled them all down in the first place... Getting kinda tired of Tokyo tbh, been there enough times, but I still need to go there because all the stuff I need for work is there. Gonna do Fukuoka next time. I have stuff to do there.
OK. Are there any areas (say, in Tokyo) which I should avoid? I know that every city has high-crime areas. In fact, I encountered enough street crime in Italy (both in Rome and Florence) to make me reconsider Italy. It wasn't violent or anything, just ... ugh. Too many street sellers of junk, especially in touristy areas like fountains and piazzas (but not the Spanish Steps or Piazza Navona, oddly enough). I encountered one of them on my first night at Firenze, and he chased me down the street. I was genuinely afraid he might have been violent or unhinged. I just ran away and called for the carabinieri. Luckily this wasn't too far from the Piazza del Duomo. I encountered my first one on my second day in Rome at the Piazza san Pietro. I was simply admiring the view. Bleh. Other than guys like that, though, Italy was great. The long 36-hour flight back to Australia, though ... not so much. Even flying back from the UK didn't feel as long as that. *LOL* I googled both Himeji castle and Osaka castle. Himeji seems more authentic, but Osaka seems more like a museum. In fact, from the reviews, Osaka Castle sounds like a "try-to-hard-to-appeal-to-tourists" site. Like Disneyland. Is that right? Yes, I just had a look at Kinkaku-ji on google. I know that temple - isn't it known as "the Golden Pavilion" in the west? I've not sure I've ever seen Tofukuji. I may have. I've definitely seen pictures of the Fushimi Inari Taisha and the Itsukushima Shrine. Sorry, I don't know enough about Kansai to have specific questions yet. In fact, I'm not yet planning a trip to anywhere. 15 months ago, I fell on my back while on a moving train, and I'm still recovering from the whiplash injuries. Oh, well.
I know you didn't ask me, but I can tell you about Tokyo. At night, Roppongi and certain parts of Ikebukuro, especially on your own. I personally would avoid Kabukicho. If you aren't with someone Japanese, it can be a scam trap, especially when a friendly, relatively fluent English-speaking Japanese person comes up to you. It could end up costing you thousands of dollars. Anywhere where there are lots of tourists, keep your eye on your belongings. Foreign (mostly Chinese) pickpockets operate in places like Ueno's Ameyoko street. I don't know Osaka at all. Only been there once. Iain is definitely your man for that.
