John Daly comments

Huh. I'll have to try mixing this up at home and see how it is. Certainly sounds enticing :D

Honda: "Hey, Subaru, can I copy your STi?" Subaru: "Yeah, just change it a little so nobody notices..." Honda: "Okay, I got you."

On one side, I have a room rented by a university, where various grad students sometimes crash for the night. They've never been an issue, but I never talk to them, nor them to me. Their balcony is full of cardboard trash, but so long as it doesn't stink, I don't have an issue. The other side, a middle-aged, single OL, who sings karaoke at all hours of the night and morning, loudly... and poorly. Mostly 粉雪. I only know her to yell at her to shut up through the wall when she wakes me up before 5:00 in the morning (when I'm up anyway). This happens at least a few times a month. Oddly enough, she's friendly and always says hello to me in the parking lot.

I once lived in a place next to some sort of factory worker. He yelled at me to be quiet while I was Skyping a friend around 10:00 (I was somewhat loud for a LeoPalace wall), and the next morning, I had a hand-written scrap of paper with a note from "the management" telling me if I didn't shut up, they'd evict me. I called LeoPalace and eventually turned the note over to them (obviously not their handiwork if anyone has ever lived in a LeoPalace), and every time I saw him out smoking afterwords I was told "Gaijin go home!" like some sort of bad Tokyo Drift scene.

I have had much better luck with shopkeepers and business owners. The owner of a darts bar, convenience store, and karaage joint I frequent became good friends, to the point where I've spent time at their homes and with their families, gone on road trips, and one even came running to my defense when she saw the police talking to me.

When they banned smoking indoors in public places in my home state of North Carolina, the results were incredible. You could walk into a restaurant and actually smell the food, you could come home and not smell like an ashtray after a night out for a few drinks (even after not smoking yourself), and knowing the health benefits was just icing on the cake. I give Japan credit: their smoking sections are often well-done, but I'm all for a smoking ban, as it's something that ruins my night out, and can negatively impact my health. I won't miss the stench.

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes...

Mickelson really started to self district towards the end there, and Stenson's short game was superb. I watched the final round and couldn't look away: it was the most exciting golf I think I've ever seen. I can't wait to see what Stenson does next. It was absolutely a great competition between two great competitors, and I think it will be well-remembered as a great duel at Royal Troon!

This has been out in the US for about a week and it really is a craze sweeping the nation. I have altered my route to work so I can stop at "Pokestops" to collect free items, and I see other people who roll up, stop for a moment, and roll off to the next stop just like I'm doing. Every other post on my facebook from friends is about Pokemon Go, and there are Pokemon Go bar crawl events in my town. This game is really quite fun, and I enjoy it very much. I've never seen anything like it. If this game is available in your location, give it a try!