What is in your cup?

[dreams]

A cup of coffee and chocolate mini donuts.

Thinking about listening to a book while doing yard work. The grass looks like a jungle after all the rain then a couple of nice days. So, now, of course, the pond is green again. Ug! Time to replace the O ring and get the pump going again.

But, first a few more donuts and some more coffee.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

(hugs)

Sorry about the crappy night. Hopefully the day goes well and you can enjoy the weekend.

Thanks. Day is dragging, but I'm just putting one foot in front of another. Some things have to be done today, and I'm doing them. Rest can just wait.

A side of local wild salmon is in the smoker, getting turned into lox. Since it was already cured last night, it needed to get done today regardless.

Peet's Scottish Breakfast.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

@ CRussel: I have this for you:

Perfect. Thanks.

[ProfCrash]

I am chilling while my Itunes sync with my IPad. I finally caved and got myself the IPad.

[Stitchawl]

I'm going up the country, baby don't you wanna go
I'm going up the country, baby don't you wanna go
I'm going to some place where I've never been before

I'm going, I'm going where the water tastes like wine
Well I'm going where the water tastes like wine
We can jump in the water, stay drunk all the time

I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away
I'm gonna leave this city, got to get away
All this fussing and fighting, man, you know I sure can't stay
Now baby, pack your leaving trunk, you know we've got to leave today
Just exactly where we're going I cannot say, but We might even leave
the USA 'Cause there's a brand new game that I want to play
No use of you running, or screaming and crying
'Cause you've got a home as long as I've got mine

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf0Dm-OaTNk )

(Now THAT was a weekend....)


Good morning, everyone! It's a genuine Spring Saturday and me and mine are going for a ride. Where? Hey... we're going up the country, of course! With 'Canned Heat' playing on the MP3 player. But first some quality nourishment... East India Company's "Royal Breakfast" tea, some fresh French bread with an Olive tepenade, runny Brie cheese, and some sliced cold cuts.

Originally Posted by maianhvk

@ Orlok: You should ask around... Nobody knows about mangosteen? I think that's impossible

Until last year, Japan never imported any mangosteens either. And we only found them in one market. Hopefully this year will see more. Mangoes are still considered a 'luxury fruit' and cost about $5 each. Thankfully mangosteens didn't get treated that way and were almost a reasonable price... Well, reasonable for Japan, that is, at about $1 each.

OK... there are still some late season Cherry trees in bloom at the higher elevations than need to be watched to make sure they bloom properly, so we are outta here!


Stitchawl

[poohbear_nc]

Ardbeg! Nectar of the gods! Especially after a "week from hell" at work .....

[ProfCrash]

Hot water with lemon.

I need to create a hot key that posts that for me...

[The Terminator]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I am chilling while my Itunes sync with my IPad. I finally caved and got myself the IPad.

Awesome.


Red Rose in my cup.

[orlok]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I am chilling while my Itunes sync with my IPad. I finally caved and got myself the IPad.

Not jealous. No siree! Hoping to get one for my wife's B'day, so we'll see what the fuss is about then .

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

(Now THAT was a weekend....)

So how did your students do on their test? People want to know.

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Ardbeg! Nectar of the gods! Especially after a "week from hell" at work .....

Not one I'd heard of. Anything up to £500 a bottle!!! It had better be nectar for that price .

Plain old Rooibos for me.

[Stitchawl]

A good day, and now making a good dinner, with a mug of unbranded Keemun tea beside me.

Originally Posted by orlok

So how did your students do on their test? People want to know.

I didn't even call them. Today was their first try. No one in history has ever passed on the first try. No one. Even if every skill is handled correctly, every one of the minuscule requirements (such as turning on directional signals at exactly 30 meters before a turn (not 29, not 31) Riding exactly 30cm from the curb when making a turn... exactly. etc., etc., etc.) the proctors will still fail a student 'just to make the student have, as they say, the 'proper respect for the requirements of the test.' Ya gotta show the right attitude...

EDIT: When I say 'exactly,' I mean that when you are walking the course learning your route, you bring a tape measure so you can know 'exactly' where you need to be when you need to be doing something...

Stitchawl

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I didn't even call them. Today was their first try. No one in history has ever passed on the first try. No one. Even if every skill is handled correctly, every one of the minuscule requirements (such as turning on directional signals at exactly 30 meters before a turn (not 29, not 31) Riding exactly 30cm from the curb when making a turn... exactly. etc., etc., etc.) the proctors will still fail a student 'just to make the student have, as they say, the 'proper respect for the requirements of the test.' Ya gotta show the right attitude...

EDIT: When I say 'exactly,' I mean that when you are walking the course learning your route, you bring a tape measure so you can know 'exactly' where you need to be when you need to be doing something...

Stitchawl

It took me 3 tries to get my driving licence, and I thought that was bad (mind you, I was only 16 at the time, and they didn't much like passing young drivers).

If the rules were as stringent here as they are in Japan, I doubt anyone would get a bike licence. That much attention to detail would defeat the 5 minute attention span generation .

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by orlok

It took me 3 tries to get my driving licence, and I thought that was bad (mind you, I was only 16 at the time, and they didn't much like passing young drivers).

I took my original American license... on a 49cc Moped. In fact, I actually pedaled around the 'figure-8' part of the test. I had no idea how to start a 'real' motorcycle, much less ride one, but the State law read that if you road a moped, you needed a motorcycle license, and if you needed a motorcycle license to ride one, they had to let you take your test on one!

The test was held in a supermarket parking lot, and all I had to do was ride a circle around it, then do a figure 8 in the middle. No traffic cones, no specific routes, and in fact, the Proctor was so upset that I was able to do it on a Moped, he didn't even watch me go around. I didn't begin riding 'real' motorcycles for another year, and quite by accident. My car burned up, and needing transportation, traded with my neighbor; his old 500cc Triumph for my 16ft whitewater canoe... Why not? I already had a motorcycle license...

If the rules were as stringent here as they are in Japan, I doubt anyone would get a bike licence. That much attention to detail would defeat the 5 minute attention span generation .

That's why the Driving Schools do such a booming business here despite the high cost. Sit in some really boring lectures all morning, and watch videos that repeat everything said in the lecture, break for lunch, then do driving or riding skills on the track for the afternoon. 2-3 weeks of this, then take 100-question test, and then your teacher takes you out on the track for your skill test. (In America, the driving schools usually don't have tracks. You drive on empty roads until you gain enough skill to handle driving in traffic. Japan's schools ALL use huge tracks the size of about 4 football pitches.) You might have to repeat some of the skills a few times before he checks you off on them, but you pass that same day. In the long run, it costs about the same as if you took the Municipal test 15 times. I think one of the biggest problems is memorizing the route! Here is one very simple one used for the day's practice... Every day you are given a different route to follow to get you ready for the test.


Stitchawl

[orlok]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Japan's schools ALL use huge tracks the size of about 4 football pitches

Considering how land is at such a premium in Japan, that's really surprising. In the UK we just practice, and then take our test, on public roads. And it's pretty easy to pass, as long as you are half-way competent. After not having driven for several years (a car, that is), I moved to England and took my UK driving test (without even owning a car) and passed first time .

[VydorScope]

Hmm... around here kids are driving for years before they go get their license due to a lot of farm land. I know one family where their 8-year drives the van for example.

Seems like the opposite extreme from Japan's motorcycle school LOL

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by orlok

Considering how land is at such a premium in Japan, that's really surprising.

That's the PR men saying to the world; "Pity me, I'm such a little guy." There is simply NO shortage of land in Japan. Sure, building lots inside cities are at a premium, but if you have Google Earth on your computer, take a look at Japan's geography. Most of it is mountain and forest. When a developer wants to make some money, they terraform a mountain and turn it into a new village. They literally cut off the top of a mountain, making nice flat spaces for apartment buildings, shopping centers, new golf driving ranges (gotta have at least two in every neighborhood,) and of course, plenty of supermarkets and convenience stores! Really... take a look with Google Earth. Look first from high up so you can spot the city areas, then zoom down between them... There is more empty land in Japan than filled land! Due to Japanese culture, when they do build they build right on top of each other. "Personal Space" is very different from that of Europe or the US. When the Japanese people stand together in a group, they are usually touching at the shoulders... When they build private houses, they build them without more than a meter or two between them. But it's not because of lack of room. It's the culture.

In the UK we just practice, and then take our test, on public roads. And it's pretty easy to pass, as long as you are half-way competent. After not having driven for several years (a car, that is), I moved to England and took my UK driving test (without even owning a car) and passed first time .

I too learned to drive a car by driving on farm pasture roads. A girlfriend taught me to drive. Most common is for parents to teach their kids in the US, and driving tests are on the public roads. Japan is VERY restrictive.


Stitchawl