New Scientist has put up an amazing interview with a man who survived the Chernobyl disaster, despite being at ground zero:
Cheating Chernobyl
His description of the reactor room is forever imprinted in my mind.
“Value for Customs Purpose Only”
Back at work this week. What can I say. It’s wonderful – my coworkers are courteous and professional, and management is sincere and warmhearted. I’d much rather be here catching up on ten days worth of e-mail and mostly forgotten business problems than, say, in the halls of Montezuma or the shores of Tripoli. I mean, I don’t even think FedEx does pick-ups in some of those places – and I ask you this – what would your office life be without FedEx, you ungracious cur? I’ll tell you: It would suck very hard, and very hard it would be sucking.
OFFICE WORKER TIP O’ THE DAY
(limited to areas that have FedEx pick-ups) – by C. Buddha
The adhesive side of the transparent FedEx waybill pouches makes an excellent field expedient Lint Removal Tool. Simply peel off the paper backing and use it like you would normally use a piece of tape for the same purpose. That is, make repetetive pounding motions on the lint-ridden clothes in question and repeat wildly and incesssantly like a monkey on crack. With tape, this maneuver can take quite a while since it loses its stickiness after a short time and you need to keep tearing off new strips, but the huge (9′ x 12′) adhesive surface of the waybill pouches is awesome! Use this tip to awe your coworkers at company parties! Use all the time it saves you to pursue new hobbies! Best of all, do it all on your vendor’s dime! FedEx is raping you all the time with those prices, so GO GET SOME PAYBACK.
Update: It has been pointed out to me that this is all really unnecessary if you use a lint brush. Hmm… Okay supposing that lint brushes work as well as a sticky waybill pouch (how the hell should I know; I forgot such a thing existed), here’s the deal: If you have a lint brush at your desk at work, I can only retort that that’s pretty anal and you might make a good successor to Martha Stewart (except that I have the feeling Martha would probably like my little hack). If you actually carry a lint brush around everywhere you go, you need professional help (and it really WILL be your fault when your kid gets caught torturing small animals), but in lieu of paid therapy you might just try letting it all out once in a while – you know, like a monkey. On crack.
Yakitori Stand

A new yakitori stand on the street in front of JR Nara station. The guy running it is a real character, and the chow is tasty. Usually open until 5AM on the weekends.
Since you asked… (Japan Blogs)
If you are interested in finding more blogs with Japan-related content, be sure to stop by the JapanBloggers Webring and browse the members list. You’re more than welcome to join us if you maintain a blog that suits the application criteria. After joining (or even if you aren’t into the “webring” thing), you’ll probably want to join the JapanBloggers Mailing List (Yahoo.com account required – Register today! It’s free! Non-fattening! And all that other good shit!).
A complete list of members in the webring:
Aberrations on a Picture Book
Achikochi
AdamGraunke.com
Adrift in Japan
Adventurasia :: The Lounge
alive in kyoto
andrea’s photo blog
Antipixel
Aranami
art and japanese culture
Art Brain
asagao’s Blog
asbCreative
Band Man in Japan
Big in Japan
Blender
Blog From Another Dimension
Blogging it in Japan
Blogging Nippon
Bondi Books Blogspot
C@LLing Kevin
C. Buddha’s Hasty Musings
Cerebral Soup
CFKOZAK
Chariotaku
chipple.net
Confessions of a Grade School Role Model
consumptive.org
cultured out
deepermotive
detlog
dottocomu
ELVTR {elevator}
EOFM.net
esthet.org
Fareast
frangipani
Fred
Freyburg.com
Fukuma Hair Flap
Funk’n Blog___Japanese Underground Culture Blog
Gary’s Boring Blog
Gen Kanai weblog
genfab.com – creative and good quality and crazy
gme.jp
gmtPlus9
Harubaru * Far and Wide
heatshimmer sea of echo
Henrik
Hmmn
HOBO-SAN JOURNAL
IASnet Journal – The Beauty of Rocks
I don’t mind if you forget me
IN-duce.net
i-sako
Japan
Jap|andrew
Japandy
Japan Blogger’s WebMap
Japan Takes the Queen
Japanish
Japan. Life. Tanishi
j-dreaming
jjcha.net
Jm’s myTaste music & movie
Kakyou’s World Domination Diary
Ken Loo’s World
Kitakyushu Views
Kristen’s Japan (aka mediatinker)
Laughing~Knees
Life on the Tokyo Circuit
Live from Yokohama : Stuart Woodward
Lost In Translation
M@Blog
M@ck.:Blog.
Made In Tokyo
Marc’s Japan Adventure
Marcela’s Musings on Japan
Mayumix
ME AND OPHELIA
Mes deux neurones
metalbaby
Mikan Moblog
Mike Media
Mint Dandy
Moscow-Tokyo Nonstop
nipponDAZE
Nippon Goro Goro
Noriko’s Yapping
Obscurity
Okite
On Gaien Higashi Dori
On my mind
opinios
Order of Randomness
Ore No Buloggu
Partido Vegetal Nacional
Photokyo
Pinku!
Pure Land Mountain
Rose Tinted Glasses
Why I Love Beer

It removes inhibitions. I met this girl ten seconds ago. Bill (on the left) may have met her before, but how the hell do I know. She came in after my cousin Tait (who I have misspelled as “Tate” until now, sorry cuz) called her. Jeez, I have no idea what has happened since that Spirytus shot. I’ll shut up now, sorry.
It’s Amore

Two-story driving range in Nara. Reminded me of Black Rain.
Toilet Roll Art

True art. In the guy’s john at Osaka University.
Awaji Bridge

Blue skies, open road.
CS: Source Beta

CS: Source is out! Counter-Strike on the HL2 engine! So far, only a fraction of the players are actually playing seriously, almost everyone is experimenting with the new physics enabled by this awesome engine. NVG goggles, as pictured here, got a serious power-up, as did flashbangs. No more of the screen just whiting out crap, now you get double/blurry vision and a screeeeching headache when you get flashed as well.
If you have a paid copy of Condition Zero, you qualify to beta test CS: Source. A tip: Join servers with a max capacity of 20 or under. If you don’t, prepare for serious lag. Either way, you’ll have lotsa fun plinking cans, barrels, and tires that are scattered around the map…. Speaking of which, I wonder when they’ll release aztec. Dust is getting kind of boring, and I want to see the water effects like they showed in the demo movies.
Sumoto Jinja

Front view of Sumoto shrine.