http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201610150025.html
2016-10-16 13:16 JST 2016 http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201610150025.html Recent Mt. Aso eruption attests to the fury of Mother Nature：The Asahi ShimbunMount Aso's pre-dawn eruption Oct. 8, the most violent in 30 years or so, lobbed mighty boulders in https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201610150025.html?utm_i … ↗ View original post on Facebook For a link to the original post on Facebook, open this page on a computer. Reactions: 22 · Comments: 0 · Shares: 2 ← 2016-10-16 09:14 JST 2016-10-16 17:25 JST → Around this time … 2016-10-17 13:19 JSTThe article below is only tangentially related to Kumamoto, but it turns out that the first time liquid baby formula was legally allowed to be consumed in Japan was when it was distributed as aid following the quakes. One thing my parenting experience has taught me is that simply shoveling powdered formula into your infant's mouth is not ... uh ... good. (Note to new parents: hot water is required.) Apparently, though, bureaucratic inertia had not kept pace with food sterilization techniques until (briefly, at least) yesterday. So good for you, new parents! One less thing to worry about!https://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/japan-to-allow-liquid-baby-formula-hoping-more-men-will-join-in-child-rearingOn a similar note, it also turns out that America is sitting on a cheese glut equaling 777,240 cubic meters due to subsidies encouraging production exceeding demand. Meanwhile, here in Japan, we're lucky to get a stick of butter. Think maybe the two sides could allow for the transport of a few thousand cubic meters of cheese? - Williamhttp://www.vox.com/2016/10/13/13268980/cheese-glut-united-statesJapan to allow liquid baby formula, hoping more men will join in child rearing 2016-10-17 20:37 JSTFireworks bring festive fun to earthquake-hit Kumamoto：The … 2016-10-17 08:38 JSTMemorial Service Held for Kumamoto Quake Victims 2016-10-16 17:25 JSTThis blog post contains several interesting photos displaying the aftermath of the eruption. I couldn't find the original cover image on the JMA site, though. The post contains a link to the following pdf document with more images (the text of the pdf is in Japanese):https://www.gsj.jp/hazards/volcano/kazan-bukai/yochiren/aso_20161013_1.pdfSee alsohttps://lechaudrondevulcain.com/blog/2016/10/14/october-14-2016-en-piton-de-la-fournaise-planchon-peteroa-asosan-turrialba/-- Kirkhttp://www.earth-of-fire.com/2016/10/back-on-the-eruption-of-aso-and-the-current-activity-at-turrialba-and-the-nevado-del-ruiz.htmlBack on the eruption of Aso, and the current activity at Turrialba and the Nevado del Ruiz. - Earth of fire 2016-10-16 23:28 JSTA note from the Kumamoto International entomology desk: Love those little spiders in your house!Now is peak season for Hasarius adansoni, known commonly as Adanson's House Jumper, and "haetori" (ハエトリ, "fly catcher") in Japanese. They're the little black guys with white mandibles (the females often have white spots on their abdomens) who currently occupy most every nook in your house, from the living room to the ofuro.As this article notes: DON'T KILL THEM! They are wonderful animals in many ways:- They jump really fast - really, and have no qualms about hurling themselves off any height;- They eat anything that moves, including mites and small roaches, so will keep your house pest-free;- Though they make small nests for sleeping, they are hunting spiders, so do not make webs;- The species lives in warm climates around the world and was first identified by some French guy named Adanson in Africa over 200 years ago;- They're entertaining to watch on a computer monitor as they chase the cursor around.Like most hunting spiders, they have an eye atop their head that allows them to distinguish light shading but not to visualize objects, so if you place your finger an inch or so behind one, you can observe as he whirls around to see what it is; they only distinguish between prey and not prey, and as your finger falls in the latter category, it is good fun for all.Welcome these lil' guys, and thank them for keeping your home otherwise bug-free. More info with videos at the link. - Williamhttp://rocketnews24.com/2013/06/07/337685/【殺さないで】よく家で見かける「黒くて小さいクモ」の名前が実はメチャクチャかっこいい / しかもハエやゴキブリを食べてくれる！ 2016-10-16 13:16 JSTRecent Mt. Aso eruption attests to the fury of Mother … (this post) 2016-10-16 09:14 JSTThis image is from a detailed pdf map I found athttp://d2bbxa7r541r3a.cloudfront.net/whatsnew/photo/1475963817.pdfThe map is dated "October 8th," immediately after the eruption so I think the information should still be correct. The roads shown in dark blue are "restricted" (daytime hours, alternating single-lane traffic, etc.) but open.A little more information is available in English athttp://kumanago.jp/whatsnew/?mode=detail&id=366-- Kirk 2016-10-15 18:19 JSTEarlier today, I posted about Aso Farmland. Now I'd like to write a little note about a problem that comes up fairly regularly with foreign-language information in Japan: No links to the original Japanese-language information. Take this page as an example. The English page contains a link to itself (which merely refreshes the page) and to Chinese and Korean. However, there is no link to Japanese! I think this is the result of the assumption that foreigners ONLY need information in foreign languages. Even if one doesn't understand Japanese, however, one might want to be able to send a Japanese friend a link to the Japanese information -- particularly if there seems to be some sort of problem with the translation. I think the assumption behind this phenomenon is that non-Japanese live in a foreign-language bubble and couldn't possibly find a way to make use of information in Japanese. I hope the day will come when more people recognize the importance of providing links from foreign-language translations to the original Japanese-language material.By the way, the only way I could find to get to the original Japanese was to erase "lang/en/index.html" from the URL:http://www.asofarmland.co.jp/lang/en/index.html 2016-10-15 15:59 JSTThough this article doesn't mention the impact of the quakes and the current state of repairs (an omission that I find to be rather puzzling), the Aso Farmland website includes the following statement:"We're close since the earthquake of April but started to accept reservation after August. A part of facilities and shopping area are still under repairs now.Available facilities might be changed depends on progress of the restoration."As I looked for information about the current situation at this facility, I came across an interesting article that I think we missed when it first came out:"Quake-proof, dome guesthouses offer comfort to Kumamoto evacuees," July 10, 2016 (Mainichi Japan)http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160710/p2a/00m/0na/002000cIt looks like the facility might be a fun place to take kids! For more, please read the article.-- Kirkhttps://fastjapan.com/en/p116071Aso Farm Land in Kumamoto Has 300 Egg Shaped Dome Hotels 2016-10-15 13:55 JSTNHK has published a video and article about the Honmaru Goten. Actually, I think "main building" is a mistranslation of "honmaru." The is not the iconic castle keep but the lord's residence, which is situated right next to the castle keep. -- Kirkhttp://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20161012_25/Main building of Kumamoto Castle opened to media- News - NHK WORLD - English 2016-10-15 10:09 JSTKumamoto marks six months after quakes, as rebuilding homes …
