I still love the Toyota/Honda people robots. These are advancing really well now.

Earlier this month, Toyota unveiled the latest in its line of “partner robots”: the aptly named Violin-playing Robot, which can hold the string instrument in place with its left hand and move the bow with its right hand to produce music. The roughly 5-foot, 123 lb. (1.5-meter, 56 kg) humanoid joins walking and rolling robots the company introduced in 2004, which are capable of playing the trumpet. Toyota rival Honda also this month introduced advancements to its humanoid, ASIMO (first introduced in 2005) , that allow it to perform tasks such as carrying a tray and pushing a cart while simultaneously employing an eye camera to detect the speed and direction of humans and other ASIMOs to avoid collisions. The new ASIMO also knows when its battery levels are low and will automatically return to its base to recharge.

One such glimmer is the current write up of how the iPhone has started breaking up the wireless behemoths view of how business should be done. Considering how behind the USA/Canada in mobile use this is huge.

I’m really hoping that this change will spur North American wireless on, hopefully surpassing European wireless and eying the wonder of Japanese wireless. Unlikely, but now some hope exists.

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Link to thumbnails, photos is the site that allows access to larger images, the blog is at blog.

Link Via *I forgot, sorry, probably Drawn.ca*

If the cargo has been at a near 90 degree angle for a few months I can see some damage haven taken place.

The Cougar Ace is a 654-foot car carrier owned by Tokyo-based Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. The ship has been listing since problems arose during a required open-sea transfer of ballast water on July 23rd, 2006, approximately 230 miles south of Adak.

From Wikipedia:

While initially adrift, the ship was later towed by tugboats to Unalaska Island, where it was moored next to Icicle Seafoods buoys as it was righted. On August 25, 2006 the newly upright vessel was put under tow to Portland, Oregon for inspection and repair. Amazingly, officials reported little to no damage to the vehicles onboard despite the ship listing nearly 90 degrees for over a month.

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Hello my name is Keiko and I live in Tokyo in Japan. I have a nice apartment in Ochanomizu and you are welcome to stay with me if you are UNDER 35 and YOU ARE NICE LOOKING and YOU ARE WHITE. You can save your hotel cost (a lot in Tokyo!) and we can have fun! but ONLY if you are a white guy. I do not want asian men, sorry.

What do you get?

You can stay at my apartment – very nice – it will be living at home for you, only I may be your girlfriend. hehe. I have a nice bed what is very comfortable – and I also have TV (cable ) you can watch English language TV.

What do I get??

I can have some fun sex with Europen, and American guys… what I love – they are very sexy and yummy! – Japanese men are pigs. Also, I want to practise my English with you, please.

Oh, kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that youll wait for me
Hold me like youll never let me go
Cause Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go

But, Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go
–
Artist: Jewel Lyrics, Song: I’m Leaving On A Jet Plane Lyrics

Via Link

I love these stores that keep popping up, I want more Japanese pap! If only I had the money to buy them.

Or for that matter, a house to have them sent to!

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Bento are the neat little lunchboxes artistically prepared for kids and sarari-workers.

The national capital region contour sluice may overflow takes in the flood of the small-to-medium-sized rivers which become to the underground, lets flow to Edogawa through the tunnel of the entire extended 6.3㎞ which penetrates underground 50m, it is the worldwide biggest flood prevention facility. …

The ground nadir tunnel of the diameter 10m which it runs including 5 these enormous shafts which reach to diameter 30m and the depth 60m which take in the flood, the earth to be deep over 6.3km, the pillar which is 500 tons of weight it is, the scale where such as the mammoth tank where also 59 rise the everything of that exceeds the imagination, and 14000 horsepower turbines which per second drain the water of 200t.

　The national capital region contour sluice which bears the role of the city making which is strong in the flood, supports the safety of the capital city & Tokyo as a power having under the edge literally.

The scale is huge, these works are 50 to 60 metres down and the tech looks great.

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In a similar vein to the Ramones bears by Toxic Teddies and the Sex Pistols Kubricks by Medicom, here’s another take on the punk toy theme. This time it’s Japanese brand ROEN who have teamed up with Medicom and Disney, creating a Mickey Mouse figurine based on the iconic London Calling sleeve photo of Paul Simonon.

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As an aside that retrotogo blog looks pretty intresting, I’m going to bookmark and scout it later.

ELG started in Japan in 1999 and has been gaining in underground popularity ever since, until this year. This year it’s making it big and not every ELG fan is happy.

An elegant Gothic Lolita, EGL or Gothic Lolita for short, is a Japanese teen or young adult who dresses in amazingly elaborate Gothic looking babydoll costumes. On the weekends these women walk the streets of Tokyo and Osaka and fill Yoyogi Park and Harajuku neighborhood where they pose for tourist’s pictures and sit around looking pretty.

If you have no clue what this is about try the following links:

www.stylusmagazine.com/feature.php?ID=1487

Morbid Outlook
NY Times – EGL

www.geocities.com/goth_loli1/glb01.html

www23.brinkster.com/baranokonrei/gallery3.html

http://www.avantgauche.co.uk

www.jlist.com/IMAGE/1spjy

There’s one piece of bad news for Americans who want to turn themselves into Gothic Lolitas, or Goths who want to upgrade. Very few Gothic Lolita clothing lines are available outside Japan. I believe that Mana’s clothing line, Moi-Meme-Moitie, is available in Paris. As of now, almost no designers (that I know of) will ship their products overseas, nor are many websites in English. But it’s only a matter of time. I have compiled a list of links below for those who wish to point their browsers in a new direction.

You can get EGL makeup and even EGL toys. What’s even cooler is Bats Day at Disneyworld Disneyland in Anaheim, Ca, it’s apparently a major EGL fest. If I lived closer I’d go.

This past Sunday, the Dream Party was held in Osaka. The bishoujo convention takes place twice a year in Osaka and Tokyo and features very Japan-only PC games and PS2 titles like Festa: Hyper Girls Party. I missed the one last fall, and the one over the weekend. However, Den-Den Town blog Ota Road took loads of pics so we can all relive the otaku experience that includes cosplay, figurines and anime Dr. Pepper.

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Come on Japan, more female robots and less butch anime based ones.

… the Choromet. Powered by Linux, this 35-centimeter tall version can perform most of the same tricks as its big brother (such as standing on one leg, or delivering a killer Voltron impression) at a much more reasonable $4,450, and is being targeted towards the academic and research communities

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Japanese companies face tougher times as competitors horn in on their turf, but Tokyo’s “electronic city” of is far from giving up the ghost. Massive new building projects completed during the past two years now dot a skyline that bears a striking resemblance to the nightmare cityscape of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic Blade Runner. Japan’s fabled gadget Mecca is still the largest agglomeration of electronics stores in the world, and it continues to grow: Think of a year-round Comdex or Consumer Electronics Show on neon-charged steroids.

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