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bottle befuddlement

Sunday, May 31, 2009



It's a common sight in Japan - water-filled plastic bottles in gardens, placed around plants. Apparently they deter cats from sitting on plants. Yes, sitting. And shitting on them, too.

Truth be told, I've never seen a cat hassling a plant - bottles or no bottles. But then maybe that's because I can't see any plants - because they're obscured by the bottles.


There could be a cat hiding behind these bottles.


Actually, take a walk in the 'hood and you'll likely see plenty of healthy-looking blooming flowers without bottles....


Flourishing flowers and not a bottle in sight.


However, sometimes it's not clear what the bottles are actually trying to protect....or just why they're there at all.....


An arrangement of bottles - but why?


Less of an arrangement, more of a scattering....


Whoever lives here must really despise cats.



Bottles of water protecting mud and weeds from cats. Maybe.

great japanese inventions (3)

Sunday, May 24, 2009
....that may or may not have been invented in Japan

The Yellow Ribbed Pathway Guidance System for the Optically Challenged



For ants it's like climbing Mount Fuji every time they want to go somewhere, but for the optically challenged, it's the difference between a pleasant stroll on a peaceful Sunday morning and going under the wheels of a bus.

The Japanese have it sussed when it comes to guiding the blind. In the UK they have dogs to do the job. But in Japan most dogs look like this and so probably wouldn't be very good at guiding people....


"Where would you like to go?"


....so they took the canine out of the equation and invented the Yellow Ribbed Path Guidance System. But it's not all ribbing. There are nipples too. It's like Braille for feet.

The ribbed parts mean you can go straight ahead comfortable in the knowledge that a large truck will not be coming in the opposite direction.

When you come to the nipples, however, it's time to show some caution. If the nipples could talk, they would likely say: "You are about to walk onto a highway with cars, buses and lorries going in all manner of directions. Proceed with caution."

Basically, the nipples mean it's time to say a prayer.




But the Yellow Ribbed Pathway Guidance System doesn't always go to plan....

An optically challenged person is certain to have a right old time if they come across this little arrangement of a morn....


This is asking for trouble.

A close-up of a nipple....


Nipples save lives.

fast fuji fotos

Saturday, May 16, 2009
It's in the rules.

If you're on a bullet train travelling to or from Tokyo, you have to get a photo of Fuji-san as you hurtle past it.

But getting a good photo is the tricky part.

There are a number of obstacles to getting a good picture. There are no obstacles to getting a crap one, apart from all the obstacles that get in the way.

Being on a high speed train means that you either have to use a shutter speed faster than the speed of the train, or you have to run through the carriage very quickly in the opposite direction to which the train is going, in order to lessen the effect of the speed of the train as you take the shot.



This is what happens when you don't run through the carriage.
Score: 2/10


If this photo is later cropped, the emissions from the factory chimneys could be passed off as fluffy cotton-wool cloud.


There's no way that these emissions could be passed off as cotton-wool cloud.
Score: 1/10


Pylons often get in the way......


Pylon problems
Score: 3/10


And it's not just pylons. Sometimes poles can appear out of nowhere too....


A pole in front of Fuji-san.
Score: 2/10


Here, Fuji-san's looking good but the chimney in front of it somewhat detracts from its beauty.


Serious photoshopping required.
Score: 2/10


If they hadn't built a highway there, this would be an outstanding photograph.


An almost stunning photo.
Score: 0/10


The best thing to do is to frame the shot within something; create a natural border to draw the eye in.....


Fuji-san naturally bordered by industry.
Score: 1/10

the bar codes

Sunday, May 10, 2009


Dictionary definition:
a code consisting of a group of printed and variously patterned bars and spaces and sometimes numerals that is designed to be scanned and read into computer memory and that contains information (as identification) about the object it labels

Another definition:
a hairstyle consisting of a group of variously patterned hairs and spaces that is not designed to be scanned yet contains information about the object on which it is placed


In Osaka, the bar code hairstyle is not only popular, it is also some people's pride and joy.

Rather than shave it all off, many people choose to hang on to those stringy strands, grow them long, and throw 'em over.



Value: 850 yen



Value: Only 120 yen. Bargain!


If you have too much hair but want to join the bar code fraternity, you can even buy your own bar code....


A man happily sporting his very own fake bar code.


A classic TV ad from the early 80s featuring a British bar code man....


Running time: 60 seconds

the missing letter

Sunday, May 03, 2009
Ever heard of Graham Rawle's Lost Consonants?

They're collages based around a sentence from which one letter has been removed, creating an entirely new meaning.

Here's a few I made up....





















The last one could have been a lot lewder but I decided to stick with a chicken.

If you get it and want to see how it's really done, take a look here.