Notices by Minoru Saba (minorusaba@toad.social), page 11

Looked forward to Xmas as a kid, but as the years passed the magic vanished, crushed by the weight of commercialism and hijacked by people with dubious motives. So Xmas 2024 was briefly noted with more a sense of numbness than joy.
And Easter 2025?
Hadn't realized it had happened, but then chocolate bunnies and hot-cross buns haven't caught on in #Japan .....yet.

...which reminds me of the answer to:
"What do you get when you put a rabbit on a hot-plate?"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_cross_bun

@Jennifer LOL I can't help thinking about the Pillsbury Dough Boy when anyone says "He is Risen" (no matter how many times I have gone to church at Easter, LOL)

"[UK's] Network Rail is planning to remove traditional lineside colour light signals in favour of in-cab signalling systems along key routes. No steam locomotive in the world had ever been run with in-cab digital signalling – until now"
"Clouston said her team also had to factor in the placement of the screens to avoid being hit by a fireman ­swinging a shovel around..."
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/19/nobody-has-done-this-before-britains-beloved-steam-trains-trial-pioneering-technology
#steam #locomotive #IT #retrofit #UK

"...Takanobu Nishimoto started an ”old guy rental” service to raise the social status of oft-derided middle-aged men in #Japan"
"[initial] requests were for consultations on matters like illness, changing careers and experiencing workplace bullying by a supervisor"
https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20250418/p2a/00m/0na/006000c

🔸Shades of TV drama "Rental Nanmo Shinai Hito (2020)"(レンタルなんもしない人=Rental Do-Nothing Person)
https://mydramalist.com/55311-rental-nan-mo-shinai-hito
...and/or the movie "Rent-a-Cat (2012)"(レンタネコ)
https://mydramalist.com/4055-rent-a-cat
#ossan

TikTok: Look! I discovered hot water melts frozen food faster!

Twitter: Look at this TikTok video showing how to defrost your food faster!

Yahoo news: Millions of Twitter users view TikTok video showing new life hack for melting frozen food!

Mastodon: Please read my academic white paper describing the impacts of public school system underfunding

lol…every 6 months some bot “likes” this old post that got a lot more interaction than I expected

Cadgwith Anthem (2009 Remaster)
from Steeleye Span's All Around My Hat album

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6ccvSiXHjA&list=OLAK5uy_lzoiKV0jjSe_o6DAkvy1T6fx4IK4pAXc4&index=3

@smlx4 Have used this interchange to get on the Ken-Ō Expressway from the outskirts of Hachiōji City.
It looks horrific because it's squashed in the limited space of a narrow valley, but it's not too difficult to navigate as there are only 2 options: going north or south on the Ken-Ō Expressway. However, the curves are really tight and one must keep an eye out for merging traffic within the loop.

Amazing clip of Shinji Oguma [1], opposition CDPJ Member of the House of Representatives, talking to Foreign Minister Iwaya in a Foreign Affairs Committee mtg calling out US admin's tariff threats as being extortion. Rare case of a Japanese politician who gets it & speaks up.
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5o6k7jvowuyaquloafzn3cfw/post/3ln3sb3i3yc2k
Unfortunately according to right-wing Sankei Shimbun[2], Oguma thought Taro Kono would have been a tougher cookie than Ryosei Akazawa🙄

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinji_Oguma
2. https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/e4d1bd4f3f0ec61718bc590dfa2a902bc327e16d
#Japan

Cycling to work

#Monterey #California #Beach #Outside #Nature

Infection status
Released Apr 18, 2025.
- As of period from Apr 7 - Apr 13, 2025 -

No. of patients per medical facility (nationwide) 2.10
Change from prev. week -0.04
[Source: Health-Labor-Welfare Ministry weekly report]
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001477570.pdf
🔸Number of monitoring hospitals reduced
Saga at 1.17, Tokyo at 1.2, Akita at 2.8, Hokkaido at 2.42, Okinawa at 1.11
#Niigata at 4.96

#Influenza (nationwide) 1.19
Change from prev. week -0.01
#Akita at 4.72
https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001477438.pdf
#CovidIsNotOver #Japan

Tracy Island
Composed and conducted by Barry Gray
https://youtu.be/Nh51oRLgLoQ?list=RDNh51oRLgLoQ
#BarryGray #thunderbirds

"When Cock Robin is shot dead by a sparrow, the birds organise his funeral: depending on the version, the Owl will dig his grave, the Rook will read the service, the Kite will carry him to the grave, and the Dove will be the chief mourner."
https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/the-death-and-burial-of-cock-robin/

🔸Always thought the melody was too jaunty for the words...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5SPYpY9DSo
...but going down the rabbit hole, found that there are many versions of the song as well as a jazz number😲
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ8iBzycFeY

So a fetus is a person when trying to deny women rights, but not when the hospital's wallet is on the line? It's obvious the true ideology here is about controlling women and nothing more.

Aiming to limit damages, Catholic hospital argues a fetus isn't the same as a 'person'
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2025/04/09/aiming-to-limit-damages-catholic-hospital-argues-a-fetus-isnt-the-same-as-a-person/

#abortion #womensrights #abortionishealthcare #catholic #prolife #prochoice #fetalpersonhood #hospital #liability #lawsuit

"The Emperor and Empress cordially greet the Crown Prince and Princess of Tonga on their arrival for dinner" (Nikkei: 16 April 2025)
https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUE16AU80W5A410C2000000/

"HRH Crown Prince Tupouto’a ’Ulukalala and HRH Crown Princess Sinaitakala Tuku’aho of the Kingdom of Tonga to Visit Japan" (Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 11 April 2025)
https://www.mofa.go.jp/press/release/pressite_000001_01160.html
#Tonga #Japan

"[Political philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) was] concerned that the people have representatives with sufficient power to block attacks on their liberty"

"If the rule of law is ignored, if the representatives of the people are prevented from assembling, if the mechanisms of election are altered without popular consent, or if the people are handed over to a foreign power, then they can take back their original authority and overthrow the govt"
https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke-political/
#JohnLocke #RuleOfLaw

US airlines are due to report their outlooks for the rest of the year soon 😅 https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/07/airlines-expected-to-cut-2025-outlooks-as-travel-demand-falters.html

Footnote: the reason Trump is non-serious about business is because Trump doesn't understand how real businesses work. He thinks like a mobster, or a real estate salesman: all customer interactions are a prisoner's dilemma with no iteration (how many times a month do you buy an office block from the same salesman?!?) so *of course* "always defect" is a winning game-theoretical strategy.

But in the real world, most businesses are built on repeat trade. And Trump has never experienced this.

Why the USA is still heading for a DEEP recession:

Trump's 90 day tariff stay causes uncertainty—what happens next? So no sane business is going to make investment plans going forward. Or hire people. They may run existing ops at full tilt to stockpile raw materials or pile up exports ahead of the deadline, but all new plans are on hold for 3 months.

That ALONE is a recession. Business confidence has evaporated. The US administration is non-serious about business, so business will give up.

"Harmony"
Composer: Toshiyuki Honda
Performed by Marii Eguro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dZCBGGDR7g

"Harmony" was used as the opening music for TV Asahi's evening news show "News Station" from April 1993 to October 1996