Hey, I’m not saying it’s not confounding (honestly, I sometimes think the whole country is on some of these things). Tokushima was never so strict either. But I can remember doing that little dance at places like the Aeon Mall in Takamatsu because nobody was 100% certain about which side. 😂

Yep. Tokushima was traditionally folded in as part of Kansai (and I believe Awaji as well). It may go back to the split that re-arranged Sankoku into Shikoku perhaps? That last part is mostly my own guesswork though.

FWIW, Shikoku follows Kansai, too. But Eastern Shikoku was traditionally included as part of Kansai anyway.

Everything you said sounds consistent though, with the possible exception of Kyushu. I’ve got a colleague who just moved back from Fukuoka, whom I might see tomorrow. If I do, I’ll ask. 😉

Yeah, that’s why I said East vs. West. Although there are areas further out (far northeast like Aomori & Hokkaido; southwest like Kyushu) where I can’t confirm through personal experience. But everything I have been told also backs that up, FWIW.

Yeah, I lived in Kansai years ago, and now living in Kanto. Can confirm. In general, stand left/pass right in the East; stand right/pass left in the West.

If you think that’s strange, wait until you get a load of what they did with electric current here. 😂

What’s more, many companies rely not on Patents for protection, but on Trade Secrets. Patents have better protection but expire, whereas Trade Secrets do not.

CCP does not recognize the concept of Trade Secrets. To them, anything that is not patented is basically Public Domain and theirs to take.

I used to advise to EU companies on OT Cyber. This is the sort of thing I would warn on if they operated factories in China. The CCP has rights to remotely access the networks of facilities within Mainland at anytime. If your factory has an open network pipeline directly back to your EU facilities…

Best
Lush
song
evar…!!

(the video for it? well, eh, not so much.)

OMG! @citizenkate.satan.social, you’re an angel. Thank you! I’d already asked my wife to do a search on the normal torrent sites. But this is even easier. Much appreciated! 🙇🏼

Waitasec, I’ve got a large collection of 8-tracks, because they blew them all out for, like, $0.99 per album when they discontinued the format…

And, yes, I actually do have a copy of Lou Reed’s “Metal Machine Music” on 8-track. And I have listened to it, more than once, IN MY CAR. 😈

Yep, this!

When I lived in the ME, I remember hearing the statistic that, as measured by income brought into the economy, the #1 employer for the entire Indian state of Kerala was Saudi Arabia.

Hard agree! I’m just sorry that its ratings were so low (thanks Acolyte) that I’m afraid it won’t qualify for a second season.

Well, considering that for many of us our parents were part of the Lost Generation (the generation between the Greatest Generation and the Boomers) which literally *never* gets acknowledged anywhere, I can’t say I’m surprised that we’ll all obviously disappear into the sands of time too. 🤨