That’s what pilots do during a thunderstorm: close one eye to preserve vision in case of a blinding lightning flash. 

I like the leopard. :)

Toto sells Japanese toilets in the US. I’ve lived in Japan for five years now; it’s hard to say which I like more, the bullet trains or the toilets. (Actually, it’s not hard to say.)

I live in Japan. Public bathroom doors that come down to the floor are game changers.

I live in Japan, where life is simpler because there’s no tipping (and wages take no-tipping into account.)

Everyone in Japan, where I live, uses Line, Android and iPhone users, both. While not without its own flaws, Line’s the closest a messaging app comes to being universal in a country.

There has to be a better way to clear snow from cars than using a 90+ decibel machine that’s bound to wake every neighbor within a five house radius who’s still sleeping .

Here in Japan, we open the door to our apartment because a doorframe can deform during an earthquake. If that happens you can be trapped in your apartment.

This is weird. I had the stickers using Gboard beta. That was yesterday. Today, they’re gone, except for the ones that I had use and which were in my “recents.” The same thing happened to a friend of mine: stickers yesterday, but not today. 

I think is considered a physical activity (but isn’t on the chart): Frequent ejaculation can reduce the risk of prostate cancer by up to 33%. For real: https://www.harvardprostateknowledge.org/does-frequent-ejaculation-help-ward-off-prostate-cancer

What to do in an earthquake is different in an apartment building. I live in Japan and was taught that as soon as possible, open the apartment door because the quake can deform the frame, making it impossible to open later.

I had visited a farm in Ireland, so I checked the box that said I’d been to a farm. I was pulled aside —ahead of the line!— where my shoes where disinfected. I saved about 15 minutes in customs.

Snooze is great, but send later would be just a great. Until then, I’ll continue to use Boomerang.

Most of the Facebook groups I belong to (such as a bowling group, a pottery, group and a machine shop group) have nothing to do with my life or interests.

I’m lucky to have three conveni within a three minute walk of my apartment building in Tokyo. Among the 1,001 offerings, I can get printer paper at 2 a.m.

There’s a karaage restaurant across the street from me in Tokyo. And, well...

Speaking as an expat living in Tokyo: Kamakura, yes. It’s easy to get to by train (JR line) and lots of fun!

News apps are particularly bad when it comes to notifications. I don’t need breaking news notifications for every news app I install. Really. Memo to news app developers: Don’t turn on breaking news notification as a default. Thank you.

I’ve found that, too: Apps that make it difficult to turn off notifications. As a result, I turn off all notifications for those offending apps.

Prevention is the best cure: A Japanese washlet toilet becuase you need almost no toilet paper.