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Below are the 10 most recent journal entries recorded in the "mbarker" journal:[<< Previous 10 entries]
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09:37 pm
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All you can eat rolls?
We went to lunch with a friend to a new restaurant in a nearby mall. The name is Baqet. I had sesame roast chicken, coated in black sesame. The friend had chicken in tomato sauce and basil, Florentine style, according to the menu. Mitsuko had some kind of gratin.
But the main dishes, while quite good, really aren't the point of this restaurant. Instead, the real calling card is in a double row of small trays nearby, maybe a dozen or so altogether, filled with various fresh rolls. Fresh baked, eat all you want. And we each had a couple of plates of rolls. Small croissants, bran rolls, 3 seed rolls, onion, garlic, tumeric (I still don't really know what that was, but the yellowish color was intriguing). And so on. Warm rolls, with plenty of butter.
Lunches were about 1,000 to 1,200 yen, which is reasonable for this kind of restaurant.
And all-you-can-eat warm rolls really hit the spot. Nice change of pace from the rice that is the usual staple.
Current Mood: full
Tags: bread, japan
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02:37 pm
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Can you explain this?
A few years ago, we visited the Guinness factory in Dublin. Did the tour, and visited the gift shop. At the time, my wife recommended a Guinness hat for me, which we bought. And I have worn it fairly often since (it keeps my bald head warm!).
( Label Trouble )
Oh, well. Now I have a sewn-in label. And the hat still keeps my head warm. But I do wonder why they glued a second label in? Double your labels, double your fun?
Current Mood: amused
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10:10 am
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Don't Forget the Baseline!
Okay, now that's amusing. I may not have the figures exactly right, but basically...from the news last night.
One of the small towns here in Japan hit by the earthquake and tsunami last year has carefully converted a lot of the trash into a pile of woodchips, ready for slow burning. Let's be honest, it was more like a small hill of woodchips. They understood that it would take a while to truck and burn, but at least they were ready for the next step of clean up.
However, someone got nervous, and insisted that they measure the pile for radiation. This is well outside the area of the Fukushima contamination, but... what the heck, right?
Well, the pile showed about 64 becquerel per kilogram! And suddenly, the truckers, the trash burners, everyone said "No, no, we can't handle this."
The town people were puzzled, and then they did something smart. They got someone to do the same measurements on woodchips from a number of normal sources, just the kind of stuff that is going into the burners every day.
The result? Normal levels averaged 70 becquerel per kilogram, higher than their woodchips.
Apparently the town is going to be able to dispose of their woodchips after all.
I think it's amusing. A measurement without a baseline... I have to remember that for the next time I'm teaching research methods.
Current Mood: amused
Tags: japan, news
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11:46 am
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A taste treat?
Yomogi mochi (toasted), a little brown sugar and soy sauce, and cinnamon?
( A winter treat )
It sure tastes good!
Current Mood: slow
Tags: japan
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11:38 am
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Remember mirror writing?
This morning's news had a visit with an 80-year-old Japanese woman basically to talk about her hobby. It started with her explaining that when she was 50, she was having trouble remembering things. She said that she would look up a phone number in her address book, then start to punch it into the phone, and realize partway through that she had forgotten it. But she says that she doesn't have any problem now with her memory.
( Try mirror talking! )
Current Mood: yppah
Tags: japan, tv
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09:58 am
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Raw fish? Well, sort of...
One of the TV shows recently showed us some of the back story for the sushi that we all enjoy here in Japan. Negitoro, kazunoko, and amaebi.
( add a bit of corn oil? )
What fun. "Raw" fish? Well, sort of. They're not cooked, I guess. But if processing counts...
Current Mood: frivolous
Tags: japan, tv
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01:39 pm
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What have I done?
Oh, drat... we had a visiting group of Japanese high schoolers here, and I was invited to join them for lunch. Talk and lunch, that is -- I know we're the exotic entertainment. Faculty, that is.
So the second bunch that sat with me included a couple of young women. One industrial designer, one mechanical engineer interested in robotics. Interesting pair, quite cheerful. And when they excused us and started to rearrange for the afternoon session, another young woman came running up, clearly looking for them.
That's when I made the mistake. I said, "Here they are. We didn't eat them."
She turned to me and said, "What? What did you say?"
I repeated it, then translated it into Japanese. Then she said, "Why would you say that?"
And that's where things got complicated. Why do we joke about eating people?
Current Mood: not hungry
Tags: japan
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10:01 am
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Cell Phone Pillows?
There's an ad showing up on TV here in Japan recently that seems kind of odd to me. See, there's one younger woman, clearly laying down on this star-shaped pillow, talking... with her cell phone plugged into it. Then they cut to an older man, laying on a similar pillow, talking on his cell phone. They're joking, just light talk, but the point is how wonderful these cell phone pillows are. Built-in small speakers and microphone, plugs into your cell phone... and for a short time only, if you sign up with the XYZ cell phone service, you get one free!
I know I'm not a power cell phone user, but... a pillow? So I can lay in bed and talk on the cell phone? Is this really something that people would want enough to switch services to get it?
Why not just get a pillow, and put your cell phone on speaker mode?
Current Mood: puzzled
Tags: cell phone, japan
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03:07 pm
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Rabbits and Dragons and seahorses?
The other day, one of the news shows had a fluffy white rabbit and a glass globe full of seahorses as props to talk about the new year. As they reminded us, 2011 is the year of the rabbit. And they showed us the fluffy white rabbit -- a long-haired variety who was quite happy to be on TV.
( Why is a seahorse a dragon? )
Happy New Year!
Current Mood: celebrating
Tags: japan, new year
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07:07 pm
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Kotatsu: Japanese winter comfort
While I'm thinking about it, another bit of Japanese fun at this time of year.
Take a coffee table. Now, add a blanket under the top hanging over the edges so that the space under the table is like a small tent. And in the frame under the top, add a small heater. That's a kotatsu.
Now you have to imagine sitting on the floor, with your legs under the table, and the blanket edges tucked around your lap. So the heater keeps your legs nice and warm. If you and your friends or family sit around the table, staying warm, eating and drinking, watching TV, playing cards... It's kind of a cozy, relaxed and warm way to spend time in the winter! Very popular and very simple. But many Japanese people have fond memories of sitting with family and friends under a kotatsu, and this time of year, you will often be invited to join in the comfort.
It actually is pretty nice. And your toes get warm!
Current Mood: toasty
Tags: japan, winter
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