I realize that it's a good source for spurring thought, but, how about this-- do any of you believe that his philosophical ideas are true? As in, does your personal philosophy align with Pirsig's in the novel?

I can't help but think that while it's a well-written book with stimulating stimulating, it seems a bit far to actually 'believe' it.

Being a layman, forgive me if I am completely missing something here...
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 6:23 PM on October 1, 2008

Wow, these are really interesting comments. Suedehead's ideas made me realize that, if one follows Pirsig's own ideas of quality-- that it is not variable among different people, only that people's a priori knowledge changes the way that is is viewed-- can apply directly to the book.

If someone has certain a priori knowledge (in Pirsig's terms), then they could easily conclude that comic books are literature, while others, that only see "pretty pictures" (or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 7:15 PM on October 1, 2008

I'm nearly positive that Tokyu Hands has them. I'd suggest going to the one in Shinjuku (I once went to Tokyu Hands at LaLaPort and was seriously underwhelmed with it, compared with the Shinjuku shop).

Here's a map to the Shinjuku location.

On another note, I had a Timbuk2 bag for a couple years, and even used one when I was an exchange student in Kyoto. They are awesome, but I'll admit, I kind of bought it for the name. Make sure you check out... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 2:08 AM on August 31, 2008

Just a quick note-- right now Timbuk2 is having a big sale on their website. It might be worth buying it and having someone you know ship it over.

Sale Here
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 5:18 PM on September 4, 2008

How about this-- anybody know of a place to find Murakami's book covers as large JPG's, say for a cool wallpaper or something?
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 2:33 AM on August 31, 2008

I'm interested in this, too. Keep us posted on what you find.

While you're at it, can you recommend some interesting books on English etymology?
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 2:27 AM on August 31, 2008

Thanks for the advice! I'm currently earning about $20 an hour, but have been doing this part time for over a year, so I thought it might be time to ask for a bit more.
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 6:40 PM on August 24, 2008

Thanks everybody. I am going to ask for a raise tomorrow and I'll tell you how it goes...
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 5:51 AM on August 25, 2008

@notsnot: Anyway to check for mold? I know I could pay someone to clean the whole unit, but it's over 100 bucks, so I'm not keen on it unless I know I need to.
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 7:45 PM on August 10, 2008

I don't know about Austalia, but in the US it was easy to shop around for me, I had offers from 4500 - 8000USD, and ended up going with the cheapest because I thought he was the most competent of the group. There was never a consultation fee.

Japan, on the other hand, is a different matter. It seems like even the cheapest orthodontist wanted about 100USD for a consultation, where they don't really do anything except give you a ridiculous quote (always around 10,000USD).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 9:19 PM on August 1, 2008

Haha, the first thing I did was hit up movie trailers, since I know Apple uses Akamai and bandwidth one their side is never a problem... Nice, but still unfulfilling!
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 9:01 PM on February 15, 2008

And, upload is capped around 10mpbs, I think... (at least in the speedtests I ran it hovered around that)....
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 9:02 PM on February 15, 2008

Sorry, but I really don't know anything about usenet services... What's the point if you have bittorrent? And, I'm in Japan, so I might not get a great connection speed (giganews speedtests hits about 4mbps, though it's still increasing when the download completes). Oh yeah, I pay about $46/month
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 7:19 AM on February 16, 2008

I guess my only worry is my girlfriend-- she stays over a lot and says it'll drive her crazy. But then again, if she stays over a lot, I'd imagine she'd get used to it, also. I should mention, these are tiny apartments I'm talking about-- the train track one is 29 sq. meters (~312 sq. feet) and the other is smaller (though honestly not that noticeably) at 22 sq. meters (236 sq. feet).
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 5:22 PM on January 6, 2008

There are trains going by about every 5-10 minutes from 5am to 1am.... Still think it's a good idea?
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 7:16 PM on January 6, 2008

whoops, should've checked my writing more carefully, sorry for the grammatical errors!
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 10:35 PM on November 4, 2007

Any particular places in mind? Forgive me, I've been to Shimokita one time and never been to the others (though I heard that Clockword Orange bar in Kichijoji is pretty cool).
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 10:51 PM on November 4, 2007

Correct and good suggestion! Though not quite what I was thinking, still always fun to head to Akihabara!
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 11:33 PM on November 4, 2007

While browsing around just now, I did find locations of places from Lost in Translation:

This is the list (look down at the bottom)
If you want to go straight to the karaoke place, check this out.
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 11:49 PM on November 4, 2007

Ehhh, to be honest, I don't really know what I want-- just not anything like home. So far all the suggestions have been great. Now, the question is, anybody wanna try some of these places out?
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 3:33 AM on November 5, 2007

Ugggh, sadly, fair use only covers non-profit schools... It's a no go, I'm afraid...
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 2:44 AM on September 28, 2007

Wow, these are great comments... Thanks all!
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 7:52 AM on April 20, 2007

Yeah, I think you're right-- I didn't mean weird, extreme colors. More like. I don't want suits that are just nasty polyester or something like you find at most stores. The suit I have now is 100% wool, summer weight, and I really like it....
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 6:14 AM on March 27, 2007

Great, great comments... I really appreciate it!
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 11:38 AM on December 26, 2006

Haha, I laughed out loud with the kimchi idea... I'm leaning towards the plant or something like that. I was originally wondering if there was some customary gift or something to bring, but I suppose not....
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 8:56 AM on November 20, 2006

To dydecker:
What companies pay more? I have to be partial to JET because one of my old professors was one of the interviewers, so all I heard every day was how great it was. I'm about to put an application in for JET, and hearing that you can make more from other places (which I had always heard was a rumor from my prof.) makes me wonder what else is out there! Give us your advice!
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 10:39 AM on November 9, 2006

Sure, if you just want to back up the index, check http://desktop.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=13799

If you want more than that, perhaps take a look at all the add-ons they have-- some provide backup stuff as well as other neat options....
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 11:17 AM on October 13, 2006

Wow, you guys are great... I went ahead and Amazon'd the book mentioned above-- I've always heard people talk about it, but I've never been one for self-help type stuff, so I thought it was kinda bogus. Here goes! As for being an actual developer, I don't think it's quite for me. I did it for about 2 years off-and-on and now that I've had a taste of B2B sales, I think I much prefer it (as long as you're selling a product that you believe in, I guess). Anyways, thanks for the great responses... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 7:55 PM on October 12, 2006

I used the Sony Librie over the summer and LOVED it. I don't know about DRM or anything like that on it... and you certainly can't expect anything more than reading since you actually watch the scren refresh, but it is BEAUTIFUL to look at. I honestly thought it was some time of fake since it looked so much like a printout or something to me... Just my two cents
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 11:03 PM on December 12, 2005

Well, since you are going to probably rent (or buy) it anyways.... Are you against downloading it? I have a lot of friends that download off bittorrent because they can watch things in high-def without having a high-def TV and normally end up buying the DVD's anyways... I'll wait to post info about how to do it in case it is not proper to do so here-- anyone know if its bad to post info about bittorrent here??
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 8:08 PM on November 26, 2005

Great thoughts-- my concern was that in packing my suit, everything would become too wrinkled for the next day (and pressing a suit with the standard-fare hotel iron isn't my cup of tea). However, after looking into it, I can have it done by the staff, so I think I'll pack the suit... Thanks!
posted to Ask Metafilter by phaedrus441 at 8:13 PM on November 6, 2005