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When the doorbell rang,
When the doorbell rang, Tod was in the kitchen making coffee so I ran down to answer it. Maybe it was one of those packages we keep missing. It was a high school student, dressed in his school uniform of navy blue pants and a matching military style jacket. He explained that he was conducting…
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Yesterday was a beautiful
Yesterday was a beautiful winter day. The sky was blue, the sun shining and the air was warm. I was out running errands (mailing those Christmas packages) and decided not to head back to the office with a take-out lunch. Instead, I found myself at the Koishikawa Botanical Garden with a picnic. I sat on…
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I’m running earlier than
I’m running earlier than usual this year, but I don’t think I’m going to make it. For Christmas the past two years, gift shopping & shipping has been a last-minute, mad rush. Nearly everyone on my gift list received similar items (yukata in 98, “winter gift” in 99). They were shipped via overnight mail just…
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A new subway line
A new subway line opened this week. The Oedo line makes a loop around the city, connecting points that have previously been on the fringes of other subway lines. Our station, Kasuga, is one of the Oedo line stops. In fact, the new station bridges three lines here which means we can walk underground from…
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A long time ago,
A long time ago, I discovered I was allergic to cola drinks. Now I discover I’m sensitive to urban wariness, too. Back then, I tried an elimination diet to confirm my allergies. I stopped eating all the foods I was allergic to, then one by one reintroduced them to my diet. This helped me to…
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When we arrived home
When we arrived home last night, the new houses across the street were under wraps. Big blue tarps stretched across them to hide them from view. That’s a normal practice during construction since buildings in Tokyo are so close together, the tarps keep construction grime off the neighbors. But in this case, I think that…
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ANA’s fleet of Boeing
ANA’s fleet of Boeing 777s has a really nifty feature–the cockpit camera. Passengers can see the view out the front window as the plane takes off and lands. In flight, the camera angle switches to a straight down view of the landscapes below the plane. Even confirmed aisle-sitters like me get a great window view.…
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And yet more uses
And yet more uses for Lever 2000: 19. Killing ants 20. Etch name on dirty surfaces 21. Terrorize Lever Consumer Hotline 22. Amuse friends by thinking of uses 23. Weighing down pickle pots 24. …
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More Lever 2000 uses:
More Lever 2000 uses: 12. dog shampoo 13. laundry prewash/stain remover 14. lava lamp ingredient 15. temporary glue for paper holiday decorations on windows 16. “wash your mouth out with soap” 17. eyeglasses cleaner 18. wanking lubrication 19. …
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Snow! Tokyo doesn’t get
Snow! Tokyo doesn’t get much snow. Whether it’s the normal climate or global warming or the city’s “heat island effect” I’m not sure, but my last few winters have been nearly snowless. So a trip to Chicago in winter is a treat. When it began snowing here, I was delighted. By morning we had about…
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