a.k.a. putting your finger on the important point

Genbee and Shigeru were in the living room, sitting with a large wooden block on small feet between them. The top was inscribed with a matrix of black lines, 19 x 19. A number of small round disks, like buttons, in black and white, sat on the intersections. They were playing Go.
( black and white )

a.k.a. don't fight

That day, Kitamura was leaving the house, with an envelope in his hands. He told Fumie, "Just in time for the deadline." She fanned herself and looked at the sky as he left. "Another hot day."
( proposals... )

Short version: there's a kind of clay that is mined in a certain location in Japan for industrial purposes. It is a deposit from over a million years ago. The news story was about the mine, but I wondered about what happens when we run out?
( Random thoughts )

Just a very short peek at a magician here on Japanese TV. He's an older gentleman, but does appear fairly often, and I've got to admit, I enjoy his appearances. I think most of the ones I've seen follow a similar pattern.
( An example of the pattern )

One conversation the other night with our pregnant neighbor surprised me. I had asked how many months along she was, and she said eight months. I looked at her profile and commented that she didn't seem big enough. Then I asked when the baby was due -- and she said mid or late October.
( Counting on my fingers )

That was odd. I had just gotten to my office this morning when my cell phone rang. I thought it was probably Mitsuko, and wondered what I had forgotten. So I thumbed the button, and raised it to my ear, saying, "Moshi, moshi." (which is the Japanese "Hello?")
( Don't call me, I'll call you . . . )

Just a quick note about one quirk that reinforced a lesson for me on our recent trip. See, the hotel had wireless, with a large sign on the desk advertising that it was highspeed. And for the first couple of days, I suffered with it being less than highspeed. But then trying it in the conference rooms, I found that the service was actually pretty ( Read more... )