Author Archive for risu

Page 60 of 95

One Day Geek Fest

Published on March 15, 2009 in Culture and Travel by risu. Closed

Hmm… randon thoughts…

I think I definitely gained weight on this Japan trip.  Ususally I lose weight from all the activity (snowboarding, walking all over the place) and generally healthy fare and correct portioning, but the crab dinner and several viking (buffet) meals have added up to extra centimeters around the waistline.

Let’s see… my flight is at 18:30, so I should be at the airport by say 16:00, so I should leave here at 15:00… If I finish packing by 10:00 when the stores open, I should have around 4-hours to hit all the book stores, Mandarake, the big Book-Off , and maybe swing by the toy levels of the two big electronics stores.  I don’t think there are any new tankoubon out that I need right now, but there are a couple of figures that I’d like if the packaging fits in my luggage.  I saw a Nogizaka Haruka figure at Yodobashi, but the box was a 30cm cube!  That’s not going in my suitcase or boardbag!

That reminds me – I have to leave room in the boardbag for canned microbrew beers from the shop at the airport… 

Time’s a wasting!  Time to pack!

Journey to the East – I Hate Crab!

Published on March 15, 2009 in Food and Travel by risu. Closed

Okay, maybe not hate, but I don’t think I’ll be eating any for a while anyway! A few years back, I got a whole Hanasaki-gani with dinner at an inn in Rausu. It was split between two people, but was still quite a challenge to eat all of it. This time around, in a visit to Kawayu-onsen, the crab dinner came with crab sashimi, crab sunomono, crab nabe, crab miso soup, crab rice, crab tofu, and of course, a platter of whole crabs!  There was no way we could possibly eat all of that crab.  Even with a valiant effort, we didn’t even get through half of it.  Only the dessert didn’t have crab in it!  Unfortunately, it was the first day of a multi-legged onsen tour, so we couldn’t bag the unfinished crab and take it home with us.  Zannen, desu… Continue reading ‘Journey to the East – I Hate Crab!’

Delerium Tremens

Published on March 15, 2009 in SUAR by risu. Closed

Sorry, Lil! I had the one bottle of Delerium Tremens that was awaiting me here in Japan, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it by the store today on the way to the airport to buy more to bring home. It was excellent, BTW. Definitely a four out of four! At least I know where I can get it here, so if we can’t find a way to get it in The States I can get it here.

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Gringo-speak

Published on March 2, 2009 in SUAR by risu. Closed

This has been bothering me for the year it’s been running – Hey, you guys at ClearChannel who did the Jack in the Box bumper that runs on your Hawaii radio stations, “Chipotle” is pronounced “Cheh-pote-lay”, not “Chill-pole-tee”. WTF?! Idiots! Hire a voice-over guy who can actually pronounce the frickin’ words correctly!

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Cookie Cutter

Published on March 2, 2009 in SUAR by risu. Closed

The irony of the Audi Q7 television commercial with the schoolkids not knowing which silver Lexus RX their respective parents occupies is probably lost on the unwashed North American buyer who doesn’t realize that the Q7 is just another rebadge job on a VW Touareg/Porsche Cayenne unibody.

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No Resale Value for You

Published on March 1, 2009 in SUAR by risu. Closed

Saw a nice, shiny previous-gen GTi in the used car lot at the Beretania Pfleuger. It was <$14K USD with aftermarket wheels, a body kit, and a big-ass FMIC. That's cheaper than a new base Yaris! Saw a 2008 Passat from the Ala Moana Boulevard dealer being fueled up at Tesoro for a test drive with a <$15K USD sticker on the windscreen. I guess Vee-dubs don't retain a lot of resale value.

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Flip-o-Matic

Published on March 1, 2009 in SUAR by risu. Closed

Mitsubishi got two things right with the Evo. One, the USDM version retains the rear windscreen wiper, making it the only sedan sold here with one. Two, the emergency flasher button is enormous and placed high up on the center console, so it is easy to press when you go ass over a teakettle at the X-Games!

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A Spot of Sun

Published on February 27, 2009 in bike by risu. Closed

With the winter giving way to spring, I managed to get home before the sun set today, but there was very little remaining above the Ko’olau crest by the time I got my bike ready and got dressed. I was feeling quite British in my Endura shorts and Hope Technologies jersey, but if I was really feeling the UK vibe, I would have not turned around and gone home straightaway when the weather suddenly deteriorated and it started to drizzle. Oh well, it was nice getting out on the Ellsworth anyway.

D = 9.22 km (5.73-miles), Vavr = 17.7 km/h (11.0 mph), Vmax = 40.1 km/h (24.9 mph), T = 31-minutes

Burton AK Throttle Gloves

Published on February 24, 2009 in Review and Snow by risu. Closed

Finally, I’m no longer “Mr. Astronaut-mummy-hands.” Got a new set of Burton AK gloves on sale from Dogfunk for 50% off. These current gloves are made much trimmer than the early generation version I had originally. I think the ones I had were the first generation Gore-Tex 3L taped gloves. Yes – taped! I’m not talking about a prefabricated Gore-Tex insert here – we’re talking Gore-Tex 3L fabric stitched together into a glove shell and seam-taped!  The palms were a synthetic material that went cracky and peely after about the third use, but since this material was an overlay over the actual PTFE material, there was no waterproofing problem, so I didn’t bother getting warranty service on them. Many seasons later, the grippy material was pretty much worn away, leaving only the fuzzy substrate. I do know that this issue was cleared up the next year with a genuine leather palm Continue reading ‘Burton AK Throttle Gloves’

Throbbomatic

Published on February 20, 2009 in SUAR by risu. Closed

Man, did I have a headache when I woke up this morning! I blame Lil! No, only joking …maybe it was the ice cream or being stuck on the H-1 Westbound where it went from a three-lane freeway to a one-lane parking lot. Anyway, it was good to see everyone last night.

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