Posts Tagged: snow


21
Apr 08

Ramsay Ramblings 4/21/2008

Is the weekend over already? Time seems to be flying these days. We are well into spring and the suzumushi (bell crickets) are piercing my brain with their high pitched singing. It must be time for some more Ramsay Ramblings!

5 yen a bag, or take a box for free!

Free cardboard boxes at supermarkets near you now!Today, my mother-in-law came by for a visit, but before she did, she stopped off to buy some groceries. Now, in some parts of the country, perhaps at selected supermarkets, they are charging 5 yen for every shopping bag you use. Apparently, by encouraging people to bring their own reusable bags, supermarkets can reduce the “billions of plastic bags [that] are choking our planet” (reuseablebags.com).

Personally, I’m not convinced that shoppers will take the bait, and supermarkets will make a small fortune off these 5 yen bag sales… or will they? It turns out that my mother-in-law opted for a free cardboard box, rather than pay the 5 yen!

Yes, free cardboard box. Why pay for a plastic bag when you can get a cardboard box for free? :roll:

Mike McKinlay stuck in Seattle for 24 hours

Net Buddy 4 Life, Mike McKinlay, should have been in Japan by now on the start of his three-week vacation. However, when I opened my email box, I got this…

Hey net buddy… I’m in Seattle right now.. and yes I’ve missed my plane.. remember that snow storm in Calgary? Well that probably made our plane late which made us miss our connection… Don’t ever complain to me about high winds ruining your honeymoon flight again! Sure, you missed your connections, but this has caused me a full 24 hour delay! Actually, nothing really good happened today… more bad news that I can tell you about later when i see you!

Mike, if you’re reading this from an airport somewhere, our thoughts are with you! Be strong Net Buddy!

Watch out or I’ll spam you!

I’m a regular commentator over on Jason Irwin’s blog, but it seems I’m leaving comments without even knowing about it! In his post, Spammers Are Getting Stupid-er-er, Jason uses an example of someone spamming his site as me! Take a look, it really is amazing how far people will go these days!

Which looks better?

Don’t think for more than two seconds. Just look at these screen shots and tell me which you prefer.

Comparing Math Worksheet Wizard Styles

Those pictures are from my Math Worksheet Wizard website. I prefer one color/logo scheme while my wife prefers the other. This is what I do with my time. I make math worksheets. I’ve finished the kindergarten section and have most of first grade done. At this pace, I should have the whole elementary school math curriculum done by the end of September. Okay, I’m not a math teacher, but fortunately my mum is, and she’s kindly helping me along. Thanks mum! :)

That wraps up another Ramsay Ramblings. Thanks for reading!


24
Dec 07

Rikuto Sees His Great Grandmother and First Snow

In my last post, Making Mochi in the Mountains, I told you it was my first time to to make Japanese mochi. I wasn’t the only person doing something for the first time.

Rikuto sees snow for the first time

Our trip to the mochi ceremony took us way up into the mountains on a winding road surrounded by snow. We were all surprised snow had fallen since it was a really mild winter’s day, but there was snow everywhere. There was less snow when we reached our destination on the other side of the mountains, but we still found some of the white stuff for this momentous photograph.

Rikuto sees his first snow

Rikuto sees his great grandmother for the first time

The same evening, my family in England gathered around my mum’s computer so Rikuto could see his great grandmother, who was visiting from Italy. There aren’t many great grandmothers who have used a webcam, and this one was no exception. She was amazed to be speaking face to face with her grandson and great grandson despite the geographical distance between us. Hopefully, it won’t be the last time Rikuto sees his great grandmother, and next time we’ll have to go to Italy and visit in person. In the meantime, here’s a picture of Ricky’s great granny and the gentlemen in the photo is his great uncle, who I haven’t seen for over a decade myself!

Great uncle and great grandmother