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Wednesday, 03 February 2010 11:11 |
The incumbent prime minister Hatoyama and his new government have been
working to pass legislation that will place a 100-yen tax on each and
every pack of cigarettes sold in Japan. I was shocked this wasn't
done 10 years ago. Japan has a major problem with smoking
addiction, and here are some possible reasons why:
They're Cheap
A pack of cigs cost about 300 yen ($3 US). That's an awesome deal
compared to a place like Singapore, where they are around $12 US a
pack. Most industrialized nations tax the crap out of cigarettes
to promote a healthier, non-smoking population while boosting tax
revenue. As I'm sure many |
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Sunday, 17 January 2010 16:26 |
I'm far from being a shopaholic, but I definitely have a weak spot for
electronic toys. I've made quite a number of dumb purchases in my
life (most often electronics), but these particular ones reverberate in
my wistful memories. Thank God for Ebay!
The Cotton Candy Machine
I once beheld a home cotton candy machine for sale in a catalog
specializing mostly in useless, single-purpose home appliances. I
just had to have it. This purchase would change my entire
life--friends would flock to my lively cotton candy parties, and
princess-like model-esque girls would swoon at the sugary goodness
served by yours truly.
My ultimate goal was to put my arm into the machine and encase it in
cotton candy. Unknown at the time was the |
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Saturday, 16 January 2010 20:10 |
Just as living with LA traffic day after day made me hate cars, living
with central Tokyo's population density makes me hate people.
Tokyo is so crowded with people that even an uncomplicated excursion is
exhausting. Train stations, shopping malls, cafes, restaurants,
bars--people ooze out of every possible orifice. Over the years
of living in one of the most crowded cities in the world, I've
developed certain skills and tendencies to cope. Some of them are
embarrassing, but all of them greatly relieve the annoyance caused by
living under such people pressure. Consider this advice on
becoming a Tokyo hermit if you
happen to share in my frustrations. Consider it me-deprecating
entertainment if you do not.
Stay At Home
The most easily-executed is to |
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Saturday, 02 January 2010 15:49 |
I learned in my psychology classes that memory is most deeply encoded
when associated with concrete imagery. That is, memories are
strongest when they appeal to all the senses and can readily
recreate an imaginable scene or context. Rote memorization
(e.g. reviewing flashcards over and over) is considered a weak encoding
technique because it relies solely on repetition to encode
memory. Herein lies the problem with remembering new vocabulary,
especially new vocabulary in a second language. Is there some way
to study it using "stronger" memory encoding techniques?
Rote flashcards are boring and don't work very well. The memory
of them is literally gone in a flash.
Mnemonic Devices
Mnemonic devices are |
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