October, 2007
Japan is possibly one of the safest developed countries in the world, criminality is very low (even though we have the Yakuza). In this post I show some pictures of “expensive” bikes without any padlock or security system; these bicycles could be stolen so easily! And I say “expensive” bicycles, because “normal” bicycles without protection [...]
Rampo Edogawa was a Japanese writer who liked to write mystery novels. He admired Edgar Allan Poe so much that he changed his real name “Hirai Taro” for “Rampo Edogawa”. “Rampo Edogawa” is the Japanese pronunciation for “Edgar Allan Poe”. If you have never read any of his books I recommend you this book with [...]
One of the reasons why Sony was doing better than Nintendo some years ago was because they created a new market, Sony’s PS and PS2 and their games where aimed to entertain not only kids and youngsters but also young people from 20 until 30 years old. Nintendo focused on entertainment only for kids during [...]
Yakiniku (焼き肉: “bake, grill”, “meat”) is a Japanese “dish” where the main ingredient is grilled meat. It’s original from Korea, but it’s been a long time since it was introduced in Japan. Nowadays there are many differences between the Japanese “yakiniku” and the Korean “yakiniku”. Korean “yakiniku” is called bulgogi and the meat is marinated [...]
I liked a lot this joke The president of Microsoft is “Steve Ballmer”, that’s why in the joke they talk about a supposed “Ballmer Peak”. Steve Ballmer is a man who sometimes cannot control himself, he can transform into an “animal”. Even though he can’t control his nerves and hi likes to insult Microsoft’s competence, [...]
Last week I used a “teleport” locker. They are lockers where you put your luggage/bags/whatever and you have the option to enter a post address using a screen interface. After inputing the data you pay with your Suica/Pasmo and a transport company will get your luggage from your locker and send it to wherever you [...]
Japanese were the first to create a humanoid robot. It’s been almost 10 years since Asimo’s launch, nowadays there are dozens of humanoid robots in Japan. There is a company called Kondo Robot that makes low cost humanoid mini-robots. They cost around 1.000$, and are usually available in electronics shops around Akihabara. Kondo robots are [...]
Yesterday I played with a Sony Rolly, it’s a mixture of MP3 player and a dancing robot. It’s absurd, weird, BUT is original and fun!. It’s amazing how many different movements it has with so few moving parts. Right now is only available in Japan. Pictures from Minami-san.
