When in LA...

There are probably a number of things you absolutely shouldn't do when in LA, even if you're wearing your Dodgers cap. Really. 

In the summer... DUI checkpoints... well, they happen. Fact of life.

And when these facts of life do happen to happen, it's probably not a lot of fun for the guys and gals who are officially there to serve and whatnot.

Yeah, there are rumored to be quotas for making sure funds are generated, but being in charge of asking people for their ID and to blow into the little white tube.... giving some unappreciative clown a 'field sobriety test'... having to do that work when you'd rather be working on your buzz, it has to kind of suck.

When they are being serious, don't taunt them.

Heads or Tails?

Heads wins!

High fives to Dr. Nakayama Yamanaka.

Apparently this guy receiving a Nobel Prize is big news right now.
Time to pop open a few bottles and celebrate.
Just  be careful where you point those things.

Tales loses. 

Now, the second link is to the other side of the coin, *this guy. He appears to have fibbed (maybe just a little?).

What's kind of cool is how the highlighted link to Hisashi's exposure contains an explanation of what the other guy, Mr. Heads, did. A link within a link.

"induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells"

Oh, the 'veracity' of it all.

"I really hope Moriguchi did not do these transplants," he says. "That would be really disturbing."

Wutever...
Stay well. 

Playing Chopsticks

Sometimes it's the little things that we overlook, brush aside, or ignore... sometimes it's the little things we treat as not worth our time.

Sometimes we're too easily dismissive.

When it counts most.

Like once upon a Monday morning.


Not the best time of the week. For most people.


Still, that's no excuse for showing up late... if at all.

All the Little Stuff

“Is that picture over there from when you finished basic?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve got respect for people who serve. Not saying that growing up near a base didn’t have its bad days.” 

“Oh yeah?”

“I’ve never felt quite comfortable about calling anyone a squid, despite my experiences, and I’m not stupid enough to say anything bad about the Marines. Never used the ‘J’ word, but I heard sailors use it a bit.”

“You mean ‘jarhead’, don’t you? Everybody does stupid stuff, from time to time. ”

“Can’t ever recall any bad incidents with any of the guys from the Corps. Somehow, I imagine that if there were any bad incidents with them, I wouldn’t be around to remember.”

“Actually, after my first time back, I almost got into it with a bunch of them. Thought I was going to die.”

“Really? What happened?” 

“Well, we’d just come back and a buddy of mine…we were headed to a convenience store with our girlfriends. We were dressed normal, didn’t have a car or anything. We were about to go in when a Jeep pulled up and a bunch of guys started piling out.”

“A Jeep?”

“Yeah, but with the top off, roll bar, headlights. They guys didn’t even bother parking. They just pulled up sideways, jumped out. Big guys mostly. Must have been their first night out after training or something. Those dudes had some arms. You could tell they’d been drinking. First guy out pointed at my friend and I and said, ‘I’m gonna kick your asses and fuck your women.’”

“Shit! Did you have to fight the guy?”

“No way. There were too many of them. They would have messed us up anyway. But I was carrying. I wasn’t technically supposed to be, but I’d just gotten back. Out of habit.”

“What did you do?”

“I drew my pistol while keeping my eyes on the big guy, their leader. They all froze. I guess they weren’t expecting it. Then the guy at the front called out, ‘He’s only got six rounds.’ That’s when I leveled the gun at him and said, ‘I don't miss.You’ll be first. Who wants to be second?’”

“Wow. That’s sounds pretty badass.”

“No, it wasn’t. It was fucked up.”

“Well, what happened? Those guys didn’t just fold up and leave, did they?”

“They were in a different branch, but all the jargon is close enough…I told them that I was going to report it in to their CO on base, that the crew better get back in their vehicle, unless the rest of them wanted to be reported for disorderly conduct too. One of the guys said something like, ‘Dude, this isn’t good, let’s go.’” 

“So, did you call it in?”

“Of course I did.”

“What happened to big guy?”

“I don’t know. I imagine he caught hell.”

“That’s heroic, the way you handled it.”

“Not at all. Look… the whole thing was messed up; it happened so quick. Someone could have gotten killed. I felt bad. They're our boys.”  
 

It's All Little Stuff

Blind

“I brought my lunch this time, along with a little extra. I know you don’t usually eat this stuff.”

“A little bit won’t hurt. My wife will bring something in in a minute.”  

“Yeah, she always does.” 

Tear

“So, did you see that new doghouse I was working on out there, the one that was just painted?”

“You mean the one next to the tree?”

“Yeah. Had some extra installation from the house. That thing will keep warm in the winter.”

“That’s gonna be one happy mutt with an insulated crib. It doesn’t get that cold around here, does it?”

“You know, even with the installation, you’d be surprised how the cold months can make make things hurt a little. That’s why you won’t see me in the water when the currents change.”

“You break anything playing sports.” 

Pull

“No. This is from when I was contracting. Remember how I mentioned that I did a few jobs after the service.”

“You mentioned it before. But I didn’t think I should ask.”

“You don’t have to worry about that. It doesn’t bother me… really.”

“I’ve never served or done any work like that, so I don’t know how to talk about that stuff.”

“Well, I wouldn’t recommend it. You never want to have to take anyone’s life… no, it’s okay. Kind of a trip, really.”

Pick Up

 

“Yeah?”

“After one of the patrols, we were sitting around, eating. Kind of like now. Just a group of guys from just about everywhere. South Africa, South Korea… guys from a lot of different places. A few of the guys were hardcore. When you have to clear a village, you shoot everything. Had some practical advice for that kind of work.” 

"Practical?"

Remove

“Yeah. How you never surrender. If the side you’re with is ever about to start waving the flag, the hired guns don't stand a chance. That’s why you’ve got to be ready to take out the people you are working with. Do you want your fries?”

“No, go ahead.” 

“So, we were sitting there, eating, and the usual questions get asked. One of them is how many people you’ve killed.”

“I’m listening.”

“We’re going around the circle. One guy says six. Another five. Another nine. And then one guy says over one hundred. We were all kind of surprised.” 

“I think that’s your wife at the door. She’s got her hands full. Do you want me to let her in?”

Dispose

“No, I got it. Could you do me a favor? I don’t usually talk about this stuff when she’s around.” 

“Sure.”  

“Thanks.” 

Fuck!

Retraction, retraction, can't get no satisfaction.

Graffiti

Men's room

 

 

Same men's room, two urinals to the left

Vernacular expression: Invitation to a 'smackdown'

So, yeah, this is one of those places where you are supposed to click 'Yes, I understand and agree' or something like that. If people usually have to put in an extra click, they usually want to see something for their efforts, maybe something 'dirty' or even a bit 'rude'. 

Maybe I've got a weak stomach or something, but this shit makes me sick. And, at the same time, like after a good chunda, it feels kinda good to know that some of this shit is getting sorted out.

Recently, magic tricks, shell games, short-changing...these kinds of things have been serving as major distractions. Part of the reason for looking at how people cheat (on all kinds of stuff) is one way of making sure that I don't get cheated... more than a couple of times.

But what really makes a stomach churn is when doing a  quick-search for "fraud in Japan" and finding something like this.  

Having lived in small towns, getting attuned to seeing what goes on is not that difficult.  Having access to the Internet and an instinctive distaste for that which don't smell too good...

Whatever...

Loophole Drugs: Crazy Daze

After reading the headline, 

“The Best Legal Drugs in Japan”, 

I got excited. 

Then I thought for a minute... 

And thought for another minute...or so.

And kept thinking....

 And tried to remember...

And then did (sort of).

And now, this.  

Oh well. 

P.S. 

I used to think Canadian's were uptight...