Toshihiro comments

from what I've read and personally experienced, high-powered electronic devices with batteries such as flashlights and phones drain faster in very hot and cold temperatures. I would say this is likely more pronounced among electric vehicles since a lower battery charge would mean your vehicle would also weaken in power output. The heat wave hitting the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere would provide good data on the performance of EVs during high temperatures.

I'm Filipino and I absolutely welcome this. Japan may not be the partner that will bark and bite a lot like a certain common ally across the Pacific, but something to beef up defense cooperation is indeed good for both sides. Japan has been a major trade partner and a source of foreign investment for the Philippines and I guess it wouldn't hurt if the JSDF can get more boots on Philippine soil. Both countries as disaster-prone and Japan excels in HA/DR operations, we're gonna need that in this climate. Foes yesterday, allies today and hopefully until tomorrow.

There was a time before smartphones were invented that texting was the main form of communication and the number of "texts" you can send per message is limited. Think of the old-fashioned telegram. I think that if you're a kid or someone learning a new language, using abbreviations and shortened versions of words makes you tend to use those and not have the right grammar. It also makes you lazy, but at least it makes you look like a native in that language. I had a classmate during university who writes her notes in shortened form, it was like reading a text message.

For those out there who will be commuting in this heat, dress down as much as you can and pay no attention to the piercing judgmental looks others will give you for it. From experience, I will commute with just a t-shirt on and just change once I arrive at the office. Also, avoid that hot tea in the afternoon and other caffeine-laced drinks, those make you feel hotter.

I would say that her case is proof that despite all the propaganda the Chinese are forced to embrace, there are still people who can resist state-sponsored brainwashing and do help those in need despite the demographics. I would love to see how the Chinese government will handle anti-Japanese sentiment on their social media, whether they will really crack down on them or just be all bark but no bite.

the first step for me is to dress for the heat, meaning loose-fitting clothes that dries quickly and does not insulate. the second step is to be strategic with shade and ventilation, the general rule is to use shade in parts of your dwelling place that gets afternoon sun, and open all windows and doors to let the breeze in. the third step is to avoid creating heat in your home, meaning unplug electronics that can be unplugged, cook outside the house. the fourth step is to watch what one consumes. Maybe avoid taking that hot tea in the middle to the day. Oh, meat and dairy products are harder to digest and create more body heat, so consider that. Lastly is to do your activities with the time of day. Do all the tasks that involve heat such as cooking and ironing of clothes during the cooler times of day and tasks that cool you down like laundry and washing dishes mid-day.

But despite stating all of these, the most important is to stay hydrated. I'm Southeast Asian and we just went through a heat wave this April to May, you can trust on the reliability on these tips.

I was an ALT and I would say that a good chunk of your working hours is delegated to pointless tasks such as long-winded meetings and being expected to take on the full workload of an organic teaching staff but none of the benefits. If it was only the strict teaching time, I would say that I only spent a maximum of 3 hours in front of kids and the rest of that is in the staff room

I would say it laid the foundation and my views growing up. But as I grew older, especially during the start of the pandemic and access to alternative sources of information, I now have a healthy dose of doubt on mainstream media and would tend to cross-check it with those alternate sources.

This is the good kind of news that's worth reading in the morning to put you in a good mood. I will say though, the dark underbelly of this news in particular is that the Chinese youth are that burnt out from keeping up with a society that demanding. I would probably say the same to the Japanese as well.

China is the first that comes to mind. They really love to meddle in the domestic affairs of other countries and would probably have overthrown the US off its top spot if it could. The faulty thing about China is it can't do it well enough.

First step is to uninstall your shopping on from your phone. The more accessible it is, the more likely you'll be doing idle shopping. Just bookmark the site on your computer. Second step is to make a list of things that you do want and what you do need. Come online shopping time, you can just look at the list. Third is to review the product and seller well, avoiding any scams and defective products. There should be hopefully reviews and ratings of the product and the seller.

I hope the J-gov't can be truly hospitable with the visitors they are so dependent to keep their economy afloat. News such as that one mayor in a city considering on hiking the entrance fee for foreigners to a castle is unacceptable.

took them long enough. Now, only if they can compile a list of those offenders and give them to other institutions that are frequented by them

I do. My first one is with the advent of AI chatbots like chatgpt, it made people dumber and lazier. Instead of writing something through thinking, you just type keywords and the program writes an essay for you, to which you copy-paste. No to little brainpower needed. While it makes things efficient, it dulls your mind. Kind of like how some people write poorly and slowly nowadays because they're so used to typing on a keyboard.

My second example is social media, if we can consider that a tech advancement. Sure, it's meant to connect people and serve as gathering places, but it makes people asocial or event antisocial in real life. If you know already what's happening in a guy's life, there's nothing to talk about anymore. And, social media has become competitive nowadays. People are in it for the validation, not for the connection.

My last but vague example would be those computer programs/ apps that help work become easier. Yes, making spreadsheets, reports, slideshows and other office tasks have become easier, but it also raised the bar for work output. Bosses just want us to work harder and more efficient, but the catch is the human brain can only perform so high for a certain amount of time, unlike these programs that constantly get upgraded. Employers see their employees as droids that never get tired.

divindaToday  07:00 am JST

Interesting to see how Japan is handling the central government's plan to get 60 million foreign tourists (about double last year's number) by 2030.

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It seems like while they see tourism as a good source of income, they want to be unfriendly about it. We have the blocking of that view from Mt. Fuji in another prefecture, and now this. If this becomes a trend among local governments, I fear that it will encourage others to follow suit. I get that tourists are sometimes rowdy and all, but they should be kinder to guests, it's what gives them their income afterall.

I would love to see a thorough investigation on this. My speculation is while he wasn't physically beaten, he was probably starved, given his medicine late, sleep-deprived and just other forms of mental torture. Solitary confinement has also been studied to be the cause of death due to many factors, the most apparent of which is due to the mental toll of being locked up.

Had trouble with a supervisor at work for having a can of soda at work at my desk, saying that it doesn't look professional. I confronted him directly in complete sight and earshot of our team and asked why it was "unprofessional". He didn't gave an answer and I said then it's subjective and opened and drank the soda shortly after. Needless to say, that boss never nitpicked on me again. As Aly said, stand up to those who stomp on you.

I wonder what happens to Japan's trains when they get decommissioned, do they get refurbished and sold to other countries or scrapped and given a new life?

AI-made art, like art made by organic artists, will always be subject to copyright issues. The best AI could do is similar to what is done on Anime is to change the art style or alter the brand a bit to avoid this. However, it will not stop persistent copyright hunters who are out there to make money by suing people

I've been collecting folding knives since childhood and my most carried of them all is the trusty old victorinox swiss army knife. It's just a shame that I had to leave them in my home country when I went to Japan for fear of getting into trouble with the modern day kenpeitai

I live in Southeast Asia and have recently went through a heat wave. I will say that if there are two devices that I want to continually and stubbornly use, those would be the electric fan and the AC. If Japan wants to save up on electricity, then shut those neon lights and other advertising billboards earlier, also include that work can only be up to 5PM and the entire commercial building will shut power. Why should the average citizen sacrifice their well-being for the power grid when there are heavier users of that power, why go for the small fish? Trust me, when the summer hits the northern hemisphere, you will be praising that AC.

This has been said many times and I will say it again. Do not expect the public, especially young adults to get married, let alone have kids if they can't even have enough time, energy and money for themselves. Despite how we humans pride ourselves in thinking we're better than animals, remember that we still have physiological needs that take higher priority than other needs up that hierarchy. So long as the lawmakers and the moneymakers continue to look away from how they're working the population into extinction, there won't be any changes in this in the future. At least other countries such as China have countering social phenomena like the Lay Flat movement, Japan should have one too.

Putting the essential information first such as employment history and skills.

Might be hard to make the qualifications for, but I think it would be better to come up with parameters on one's health to define what it means to be elderly. In Japan especially, there are 70 and above year old people who can outmove and outwork younger people. But realistically speaking, I say it stays at 65. Let the older people enjoy their life a little longer.

if you ask me, they can be considered a classic when the theme and the feelings they evoke know no time and demographic.

this makes me wonder why the Americans have strong and vocal opinions towards the domestic politics of other countries, while the same cannot be said about American domestic politics.

Japan is no longer in the olden days where they need to hunt these creatures to prevent starvation. I wonder if anybody would believe in what they're saying.

it's not just money that will encourage couples to have kids. It's an entire overhaul of the system. We probably know what they are. I will just say that living in Japan, especially in the city and working under a Japanese work culture doesn't exactly give one enough leeway to have a life outside of work.

China will surely try one day when the timing is right. We should never underestimate the determination and patience of the Chinese, especially at a time when their head of state can sit in power indefinitely. Whether they do it by military force or through other means, that is up for debate. Whether they succeed or flounder is another discussion altogether. All we know is if Taiwan falls, it won't stop China from getting greedy and start claiming other parts of its periphery citing historical records.

Once that happens, we'll return to the 1800's where winters will be unbearably cold, summers scorchingly hot and life a lot simpler and quieter. The worst of it all, no more JT. Let's just hope that if one of those things hits us, it will just be a light show and not be a lights out.