Japan and other sundries
So, just got back from japan yesterday. It was as expected. Lots of food (Ramen, omu-raisu, suki-yaki, a shitload of raw fish, soba, makizushi, etc.) and boozes (sake, beer, and a smattering of mixed type things). Saw the sites and experienced a little more of the culture which i love like a fanboy.
New year's day? It's basically black friday, shoppingasm. You also go to the temple and find out if you'll have good luck or bad luck for the year. There's verying degrees to your luck. Mine's going to be above average apparently.
Also did the public bath and onsen thing, so lots of japanese penises and adding about 60 or so people to the "seen my penis" column. Largest demographic that's seen my penis? Japanese men. Kinda sad to think that it's always going to be the top spot unless i become a flasher.
Went to the children's science museum where there was a robot exibit for a short time. I saw a Asimo demonstration. It's a lot shorter than i imagined but never the less very cool. The fluidity and balance it has is quite amazing. It kicked a couple of soccer balls into a goal, danced, carried a tray and set it on a table and demonstrated that it could search a room for an object. Very cool.
Another robot that was very interesting was one that did face recognition. It had two lenses in each eye, a wide angle and narrow. it would flick its eyes around and look you straight in the face no matter where you went. The eyes would flick to your position and then the head would follow almost human. again, very cool. Over all, the japanese obession with robots is a good time.
Lots of pictures but need a bit a time to sift through them, so until then i leave you with this video. Question: How far do different tires fly when sent off a ski jump? F-1? A dumptruck tire? Let's find out.
New year's day? It's basically black friday, shoppingasm. You also go to the temple and find out if you'll have good luck or bad luck for the year. There's verying degrees to your luck. Mine's going to be above average apparently.
Also did the public bath and onsen thing, so lots of japanese penises and adding about 60 or so people to the "seen my penis" column. Largest demographic that's seen my penis? Japanese men. Kinda sad to think that it's always going to be the top spot unless i become a flasher.
Went to the children's science museum where there was a robot exibit for a short time. I saw a Asimo demonstration. It's a lot shorter than i imagined but never the less very cool. The fluidity and balance it has is quite amazing. It kicked a couple of soccer balls into a goal, danced, carried a tray and set it on a table and demonstrated that it could search a room for an object. Very cool.
Another robot that was very interesting was one that did face recognition. It had two lenses in each eye, a wide angle and narrow. it would flick its eyes around and look you straight in the face no matter where you went. The eyes would flick to your position and then the head would follow almost human. again, very cool. Over all, the japanese obession with robots is a good time.
Lots of pictures but need a bit a time to sift through them, so until then i leave you with this video. Question: How far do different tires fly when sent off a ski jump? F-1? A dumptruck tire? Let's find out.
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