Brother Fairline Sewing Machine -- FREE!

Do you feel like getting crafty this Spring?

I'm giving away a vintage Brother Fairline sewing machine.

It works!

Pictures below. If you're in Hiroshima, or near enough to come and get it, please contact me at flogently dreams at g mail dot com (all strung together, no underscore between flogently and dreams) if you'd like this sewing machine to be yours :)

file under: not cool, not kind, not helpful

I'm a flickr user.

Since I've been on flickr, I've enjoyed the feeling of being part of a global photo community.

Photography is something that everyone can do (some obviously better or extraordinarily better than others). Anyone with an observant eye and the willingness to learn can improve at taking pictures. I love that about photography.

What I don't understand and don't love at all are flickr users who decide not to share their EXIF data when they upload photos. What's up with that?

If you're so paranoid about someone betraying the spirit of copyright and essentially stealing your image by going out and getting your exact same camera and trying to set up the exact same shot, then you should be wary of posting your images online at all. Otherwise, what's the harm in letting someone find out more about the images they like?

I was just looking at an image on flickr which had accompanying text by the photographer describing his flash set-up. Great, so then I scrolled down to click on the "more properties" link to find out more about how the image was shot ... but nope, no link there. I don't understand that sort of unwillingness to share.

it's hot outside: using the AC remote control

the remote for the air conditioner, originally uploaded by flogently.

I've uploaded photos of my old AC, TV/VCR, and DVD remote controls to flickr.
Each picture has notes describing the functions of various important buttons.
If you're trying to figure out how to use your Japanese remote controls, I thought these might help you to figure some things out.
Even if the models are different, a lot of the functions should be the same.
Clicking on the photo will take you to flickr and from there you can navigate to the other photos in the set.
I hope this proves helpful to someone!

surely you want to study Japanese?

I still have a box full of books for studying Japanese. There's a mix of beginning-level texts, intermediate-level materials, and Proficiency Test Level 2 materials.

If you check back in the archives to April 2006 (!), you can see what I have. I'll re-post the specifics again so it's easier for you if you're looking, but for now, I just wanted to let everyone know that I still have them!

Happy New Year! ... Make your own homemade cellulite-busting seaweed and salt scrub!

The beginning of the year is a good time to get your circulation going.

When it's pretty cold here (we had a surprise snow last night/this morning), it's important to do things to increase circulation so the cold doesn't leave you feeling stiff and cranky.

You can make your own circulation-boosting cellulite-busting scrub at home.

I got this recipe from the Always-full-of-surprises-HiroshimaGal :)

WAKAME SALT CELLULITE-BUSTING SCRUB

1. Prepare

• a sealable bottle (like a jam jar)
• 30g dried wakame seaweed (that's a lot of wakame, btw)
• 150 ml white liquor (i.e. Shouchuu)
• 50g sea salt, preferably organic
  

2. Soak wakame in the shouchuu for at least 2 hours

• the liquid is now a wakame extract
  

(according to the book HiroshimaGal read, this extract lasts up to 6 months)

• you can leave the wakame in the shochu/white liquor
  

3. Add 1 or 2 Tablespoons of wakame extract to the 50g salt

• mix well, then it's ready to use
  

You can use this scrub in the shower or bath.

If you're really serious about getting rid of cellulite or improving your general health, I have some other advice as well:

• Make some changes to your diet (zero hydrogenated oils/trans-fats)
• Do a de-tox
  

(I recommend The Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs)

• Dry brush before every shower/bath. Here's how.

Good luck and let me know what you think.

One Less Piece of Plastic To Throw Away

I classify cotton swabs as an essential part of my toiletries kit.

While I'd rather not have to buy something which is only meant to be used once, I've never gotten comfortable with using ear picks (耳かき mimi-kaki) ... and besides, they don't feel very comfortable in my ears. I know lots of people are really into them, but they're just not for me.

Okay, so I've established that I prefer cotton swabs to ear picks. Especially because my preference is for the disposable option, I really hate how cotton swabs are all packaged in more plastic than necessary here in Japan.

Johnson's Cotton Swabs are available in a cardboard box, but the box doesn't store efficiently and if you take the swabs out and put them in a different container, I always end up dropping some and that's pretty annoying, too.

It's a little thing, but I wanted to share with you all in Japan the one place where I feel my cotton swab purchases create less waste.

At the Muji store, they sell cotton swabs packaged in the usual plastic package: I've tried to find other uses for these plastic containers, but I'd rather just not have them at all.

Once you have one plastic or alternative swab container, I just don't understand why anyone would need a fresh container for their fresh swabs.

So thankfully, Muji also sells replacement packages which use only a small piece of cardboard that I can put out on paper recycling day and altogether far less plastic.





And here it is: a package of cotton swabs that's just a little bit less wasteful.

What happens to the bikes?

Does anyone know what happens to the bikes that get towed in Hiroshima?

I know that they get taken to either over near Alpark or (if towed from the Station area) near the station.

But it seems like there are tons of bikes that no one ever goes to pick up. What happens to those? Are they sold off here in Hiroshima or do they get shipped off to some other Asian country?

I'd love to know more.