Wednesday, June 25, 2008

More Japanese Signs


I guess when they say, "No dogs allowed," they REALLY freakin' mean it!

We saw this sign in a park just south of us, and I knew that it was destined to be a classic.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Another Hobby?

I suppose that most people are wetting themselves over the Clinton, McCain, Obama mess. Knock yourselves out; they all appear to be career politicians to me.

In the mean time, I've taken up a new hobby. It's called Geocaching, and it's a lot of fun. It consists of going out (yes, outside, in the sun) and finding little cahces of things that people have hidden and reporting your finds on the website Geocaching.com. It really is more fun than it sounds like.

I've only found three, and one of them took three visits to the site to figure it out. Here's the deal:

Somebody places a "Geocache" in a hiding spot. They then go on the website and post the coordinates (lat and long, or UTM), and you go out with a GPS unit and find the Geocache. The cache usually consists of a few little trinkets, and a logbook that you sign in on. You can take an object out, as long as you put one in. There's even trackable things that people can use. The trackable objects have their own web pages where you can see where they go, and have been. Pretty neat, in a simple sort of way.

Once you find one of these things, you can go log your find, enter what you took/left, and see what other folks had to say about that particular treasure hunt. All in all, it's a neat way to see parts of Okinawa that I haven't seen yet. I can also involve my wife and kids in it.

I think this Geocaching thing is going to be a keeper. Go to the website, give it a try, and don't whine when you can't find your first one.

Monday, June 9, 2008

School 1957 Versus 2007

I got this in my email from a friend. I think I remember seeing it before, but it's still a great reminder of how much "progress" we've made (thanks a ton liberals!).

SCHOOL -- 1957 vs. 2007

Scenario: Jack goes quail hunting before school, pulls into school parking lot with shotgun in gun rack.
1957 -
Vice
Principal comes over, looks at Jack's shotgun, goes to his car and gets his shotgun to show Jack.
2007 - School goes into lock down, FBI called, Jack hauled off to jail and never sees his truck or gun again. Counselors called in for traumatized students and teachers.

Scenario: Johnny and Mark get into a fistfight after school.
1957 -
Crowd gathers. Mark wins. Johnny and Mark shake hands and end up buddies.
2007 - Police called, SWAT team arrives, arrests Johnny and Mark. Charge them with assault, both expelled even though Johnny started it.

Scenario: Jeffrey won't be still in class, disrupts other students.
1957 -
Jeffrey sent to office and given a good paddling by the Principal. Returns to cl ass, sits still and does not disrupt class again.
2007 - Jeffrey given huge doses of Ritalin. Becomes a zombie. Tested for ADD. School gets extra money from state because Jeffrey has a disability.

Scenario: Billy breaks a window in his neighbor's car and his Dad gives him a whipping with his belt.
1957 -
Billy is more careful next time, grows up normal, goes to college, and becomes a successful businessman.
2007 - Billy's dad is arrested for child abuse. Billy removed to foster care and joins a gang. State psychologist tells Billy's sister that she remembers being abused herself and their dad goes to prison. Billy's mom has affair with psychologist.

Scenario: Mark gets a headache and takes some aspirin to school.
1957 -
Mark shares aspirin with Principal out on the smoking dock.
2007 - Police called, Mark expelled from school for drug violati ons. C ar searched for drugs and weapons.

Scenario: Pedro fails high school English.
1957 -
Pedro goes to summer school, passes English, and goes to college.
2007 - Pedro's cause is taken up by state. Newspaper articles appear nationally explaining that teaching English as a requirement for graduation is racist. ACLU files class action lawsuit against state school system and Pedro's English teacher. English banned from core curriculum. Pedro given diploma anyway but ends up mowing lawns for a living because he cannot speak English.

Scenario: Johnny takes apart leftover firecrackers from 4th of July, puts them in a model airplane paint bottle and blows up a red ant bed.
1957 -
Ants die.
2007 - BATF, Homeland Security, FBI called. Johnny charged with domestic terrorism, FBI investigates parents, siblings removed from home, computers confiscated; Johnny's Dad goes on a terr or watch list and is never allowed to fly again.

Scenario: Johnny falls while running during recess and scrapes his knee. He is found crying by his teacher, Mary. Mary hugs him to comfort him.
1957 -
In a short time, Johnny feels better and goes on playing.
2007 - Mary is accused of being a sexual predator and loses her job. She faces 3 years in State Prison. Johnny undergoes 5 years of therapy.