As you may have noticed, my site is now secured by Let’s Encrypt. They’re an EFF-backed org who provide free certs to encrypt. There’s still plenty of fine tuning to do still, but it’s pretty simple to use so I’m not concerned. In the first place, I’m not familiar with the practicalities of using encryption on my server, so there’s still plenty to learn.
Earphones
About a year ago, I played so much LLSIF that the earphone jack on my phone broke. The jack is right where I hold the phone and I guess it didn’t appreciate the constant pressure. At the time I only just got the phone so I didn’t feel like returning it for fixing, so instead I bought bluetooth earphones. This proved to be a good choice, since a few months later I started going to the gym every day and not having to carry around my phone to have music is great there.
I bought Jabra Rox, and it’s working just fine to this day. Its batteries last for 2-4 hours depending on volume, which is sufficient for me as I mostly listen to music commuting and in the gym (which totals a little over 2 hours). The sound is all right too. There’s enough bass to satisfy me and the rest works just fine too.
The myth of a Perfect Japan
Sometime last year I stumbled upon a clickbait article: 16 Life-Changing Lessons I Learned After Living in Japan For a Year. As the title suggests, the author goes through 16 aspects they find amazing in Japan. The issue is, as apparent in the comments already, is that most of them are superficial or simply not true.
Now it must be stated that Japan is a great place if you are a guest. Most of the article’s statements are true if you are not a part of any social group – or at least not of the social group that you’re interacting with. These are formalities that you are expected to show off towards people you want to impress. These are manners you can use to feel people indebted to you. And mostly, it’s something you only do if you want to be specifically nice.
Working in Japan
People often ask me about what working in Japan is like. I always hesitate when answering questions like that, because I can only talk about my own experiences, and the experiences of people I know, which is an awfully tiny slice of the Japanese job market. In the first place, I don’t have any friends who work skyscraper white collar jobs in downtown Tokyo, and for some reason that’s what everyone seems to be interested in.
Knotfest Japan 2016
Knotfest this year in Japan had a really inviting lineup. The first day was rather short for me (making me wonder if it was worth at all). I started the weekend with Disturbed, and they didn’t fail my expectations (so yeah, it was worth). SiM was up next, and it was much better than I thought it’d be. Deftones, on the other hand, wasn’t very impressive for me. I don’t have Deftones in my library and that’s not gonna change. I guess it was good by its own standards, but I wasn’t converted to be a fanboy.
Day 2 was a much longer ride with more bands I actually know. While Anthrax isn’t one of those, they still put up a fantastic show. Good old heavy metal, and they played all the songs I knew from them. The Gazette was pretty nice too, though I wasn’t paying much attention to them until the second half of their set. In Flames were In Flames. I’ve seen them live a few times before, and it was no letdown. The same goes for Crossfaith and Man With a Mission too, who did a great job representing Japan among the headliners. Lamb of God, on the other hand, was much less fun live than I hoped. I don’t know if it was some problem with the sound or I simply wasn’t in the mood, but their show wasn’t exactly overwhelming. Oh and Manson. He did all his great hits, but I guess I’m too old to enjoy seeing a huge middle-aged guy throw tantrums on stage like a little emo girl. Let’s hope little emo girls enjoyed it more.
Slipknot was amazing. The crowd was of course huge, but I’d say it was much better than the last time. The sound was great and they played good old and fresh new songs as well. Their set had a huge screen where they played shots from their music videos, and if you know Slipknot music videos, you know how gorey they are. It was really funny when on the train home I heard some boys complain about how it made them feel sick. Or rather: sic. The show was fantastic.
Loud Park 2016
This year’s Loud Park came with a lineup that I just couldn’t ignore.
Jinx
Apparently Jinx was added to League three years ago on my birthday! I got her on my crew right away – something that (at the point) hadn’t happened since Vi and until Ekko.
Her amazing video played a big role in this too. It got me interested in the music too, which is how I found the band Djerv (whose vocalist sings Get Jinxed) and similar female-fronted bands, mostly psychobilly.
And if that wasn’t enough to be grateful for, Jinx proceeded to become my main AD (swiftly replacing Tristana) and carried me all the way to silver 2 – and I haven’t been (or cared to try to be) any higher since.
Her Japanese voice is crazy good too, with all the grinning insanity one could fit in one character. Damn now I want to play League again.
JSDF firepower demonstration
Every year, the Japanese Self Defense Force (called the roundabout way since the constitution’s chapter 9 doesn’t allow an army) holds a very impressive firepower demonstration at the ground forces’ base near Fuji. That means that if you’re “lucky” to have clear weather (as clear weather means scorching August sun), then you get to see the various tanks thunder and choppers zoom up and down with the backdrop of the famous mountain. And obviously the purpose of the whole show is to charm youngsters into joining the surprisingly unpopular service of the SDF, so the scenery’s extra memorability just adds to the effect.
Emba(rra)ssies
This half a year is pretty busy for me. My passport is expiring, my Japanese driving licence is expiring, my trip home this December will be the last before my Hungarian driving licence expires next year, and my visa will have to be renewed as the new year starts as well. So much paperwork alone gives me more headaches than I’d like, but the bureaucratic procedures are often the least of the problem.
To add to the mix, I’m scheduled to visit Korea in a month on a business trip. Thing is, Hungarians need at least 6 months of validity remaining on our passports to enter the country without a visa. My current passport clearly doesn’t have that much left. Here starts my little story.
The charm of Akiba
The popularity of Akihabara, “heaven of nerds” is beyond me. I see people go there without any voiced reason, and after every Comiket, torrents of people rush there to… I don’t even know what.
Sure if you’re out to buy some dojin porn or rare anime goods, it’s a good spot to find those. Tech gadgets? Sure thing. I’ve been to Akiba to buy airsoft gear myself too. But most people aren’t going there for the maid or catgirl cafes with their magically delicious meals, nor are they shopping up on high-end audio gear or tentacle porn.
Is this the same as women “going to the mall shopping”, just walking around the place without any intent or willingness to buy anything? Someone explain to me.
