Naked In Japan
Blue Yeti ·
October 29, 2011 at 12:07am
A provocative title, we know, but wait until you hear Meghan Clyne's story. The Young Guns are back with another one of their trademark wide ranging conversations. This week, they re-count their travels abroad (and domestically), debate Rick Perry's curious strategy of quitting the debates, Occupy Wall Street, government funded college loans, bad American airports, luxurious Japanese toilets, and of course their picks for Culture Shock and Heroes and Villains of the week.
Listen in here:
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Re: Naked In Japan
Whenever I hear "Ajax" I think of the programming language.
EDIT: Guess it's not a language, but you get the point.
Edited on October 29, 2011 at 1:13amMay '10
Re: Naked In Japan
I apologize for being a fusspot here, especially since I haven't listened to the podcast. I recommend removing the "Rising Sun" flag from the post and replacing it with the official Japanese flag, which features only the red circle in the middle of a white field. The "Rising Sun" flag is historically related to the Imperial Japanese Navy which, considering the events of the 1910 to 1945 era, is ... ummm ... problematic (even, maybe especially, in Japan itself). Maybe the reason for posting this flag appears in the podcast, but if not I think removing it is wise.
Outstripp, Stu in Tokyo - am I making too much of this?
Edited on October 29, 2011 at 1:28amMar '11
Re: Naked In Japan
Anyone else having trouble downloading this through iTunes?
I get a message that the URL could not be found on the server whenever I try to update it.
Re: Naked In Japan
ChristmasBeard: Anyone else having trouble downloading this through iTunes?
I get a message that the URL could not be found on the server whenever I try to update it. · Oct 28 at 9:33pm
You are correct, I moved the feed today but did not update the links. The new feed for Young Guns is here: http://ricochet.com/podcast/feed/members/young_guns
You'll need to delete your prior subscription and re-subscribe using that link. Sorry for the confusion.
You can also use the iTunes link here.
May '11
Re: Naked In Japan
I completely agree, that would be almost as bad as putting up the Nazi flag to represent a trip to Germany. I will tell you something else many may not be aware of the Japanese National Anthem that is played and or sung at most public events, it is directly related to Japanese imperialism, and I know that most Japanese people will NOT sing it, they will stand, but they NEVER sing......
Matthew Gilley: I apologize for being a fusspot here, especially since I haven't listened to the podcast. I recommend removing the "Rising Sun" flag from the post and replacing it with the official Japanese flag, which features only the red circle in the middle of a white field. The "Rising Sun" flag is historically related to the Imperial Japanese Navy which, considering the events of the 1910 to 1945 era, is ... ummm ... problematic (even, maybe especially, in Japan itself). Maybe the reason for posting this flag appears in the podcast, but if not I think removing it is wise.
Outstripp, Stu in Tokyo - am I making too much of this? ·
May '11
Re: Naked In Japan
..... and I've taken some flak for it, but when this happens, almost always a Japanese person will rise to my defense and tell the person complaining that everyone has the right to stand, or not stand, to sing or not sing, that we are no longer subject of the Japanese throne, but a free nation.
Loved the podcast, I can really relate to Meghan's story about the public bath, called a "Sento". When I first came here, over 20 years ago, I lived in a very small aparto without even a toilet, it was communal down the hall, and I went to the sento daily. The Sento in our area is very old fashioned, with the owner sitting in a high chair so they can observe both sides of the wall. I guess it is a bit odd, to our puritan western thinking, but after one visit I soon cared less. Great podcast overall, keep them coming, and if any of you are ever in Japan again, if you have time, I'd love to meet up, I'll even provide the beer, or wine etc!
Domo
May '10
Re: Naked In Japan
That's always been my impression, too. I spent just four months in Japan, and I never saw this flag displayed in public (except maybe on one of the ultranationalist sound trucks that came around every now and then).
Seriously, folks, this isn't a mere academic point - that flag needs to be removed from the post. My grandfather served in the Pacific theater at the end of the war and during the occupation. We may have members that so served and we certainly have members with parents or grandparents that served and may have died during the war. The Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor under this flag. It is not a source of pride in Japan and most Japanese citizens who would see it on this post would probably assume the post is a criticism of Japan. Swap it out for the official flag.
Sep '10
Re: Naked In Japan
Operation Ajax was the name for the 1953 Iranian coup. Maybe she was trying to make a statement about Iran. ha ha.
Re: Naked In Japan
スツーさん、高校のとき、私も東京に住んでいました。 日本が大好きですよ。ポドカーストを聞くありがとございます！
Nov '10
Re: Naked In Japan
About the need for higher education for modern tech jobs, to which the podcast refers--it ain't really so. It sounds good, but the truth is that really outstanding computer skills are enough of a qualification that a degree is superfluous. That's why Bill Gates didn't need to graduate from college.
I once worked in a place where a very smart engineer needed really smart IT people, but had a small budget. So he hired high school kids. These kids, after school and in their spare time, did work that most people with computer science degrees couldn't have done. And when it came time to go to college, the kids had to choose between spending money on college and taking job offers from the computer industry that were otherwise only being offered to people with bachelor's degrees or higher in computer science.
May '10
Re: Naked In Japan
Thanks for indulging my little tantrum over the flag. I'm also happy to see that with Stu, Outstripp, Humza, and now Meghan there may be some hope for rescuing my rusty Japanese if we ever find a way to land in the same spot at the same time. I'm sure we could all swap some fun stories. I didn't have the chance to live in Tokyo like Stu and Meghan, but I wasn't far - just a little over an hour from Shinjuku on the Odakyu line. Here's hoping we all get a chance to meet someday.
Jun '10
Re: Naked In Japan
Meghan, amen to the comment about JFK and other airports. It is a complete disgrace for foreigners to come to our country and see these dirty, haggard relics. The only problem is that if they did decide to fix JFK, for instance, it would become yet another union-driven, over-budget boondoggle.
Re: Naked In Japan
I agree, Lucy. I think we get the causation backwards on a lot of these fields. Just because we've built up degree programs around them -- and made that something of the norm in the industry -- doesn't mean that its a natural law that those jobs require those degrees.
Lucy Pevensie: About the need for higher education for modern tech jobs, to which the podcast refers--it ain't really so. It sounds good, but the truth is that really outstanding computer skills are enough of a qualification that a degree is superfluous. That's why Bill Gates didn't need to graduate from college.
· Oct 29 at 3:02pm
Apr '11
Re: Naked In Japan
Lucy Pevensie: About the need for higher education for modern tech jobs, to which the podcast refers--it ain't really so. It sounds good, but the truth is that really outstanding computer skills are enough of a qualification that a degree is superfluous.
...a very smart engineer needed really smart IT people, but had a small budget. So he hired high school kids. These kids . . . did work that most people with computer science degrees couldn't have done. And when it came time to go to college, the kids had to choose between spending money on college and taking job offers from the computer industry that were otherwise only being offered to people with bachelor's degrees or higher in computer science.
I've observed this, too. A related phenomenon is people who get degrees in completely unrelated fields (history) or sort of related fields (linguistics) and become software engineers based on what they learn in the gutter. A CS degree is an expensive way to become a programmer. If you are passionate about IT you'll learn it on your own. Get a degree that supports your career or supports your life as a human.
Nov '10
Re: Naked In Japan
Grendel
I've observed this, too. A related phenomenon is people who get degrees in completely unrelated fields (history) or sort of related fields (linguistics) and become software engineers based on what they learn in the gutter. A CS degree is an expensive way to become a programmer. If you are passionate about IT you'll learn it on your own. Get a degree that supports your career or supports your life as a human. · Oct 29 at 4:24pm
It seems to me that this works this way because computer science is 1) so extremely competitive and 2) a new enough arena to have not fallen sway to our society's epidemic of credentialism. I bet there are a lot of other areas where society could save a ton of tuition dollars if people could just study on their own and take an exam to demonstrate their competence. But this doesn't happen, because there's no cost (as the podcasters note) to borrowing money to give to some "higher learning" institution to get a diploma that says that you are a certified beautician or whatever.
May '11
Re: Naked In Japan
メーガン様
どうもありがとうございます。私の長女がカナダの高校に留学しています。
私も東京が大好きです。ポッドキャストを楽しんでいます。
(My lovely wife helped me with the written Japanese!)
Domo
Aug '10
Re: Naked In Japan
I've been involved in the computing field as a programmer/engineer since the late 1970's. During that entire time, there has been a shortage of good programmers. As a result, the field has been wide open to people with or without degrees. It's getting harder to get an interview without a degree now, but once in the door no one cares about your education.
In my current job, most of the programmers have engineering degrees - but a lot of them didn't take computer engineering. Rather, they're electrical and civil engineers who learned to program on the job. Some have degrees in the arts, or two-year tech diplomas. Some are completely self-taught with unrelated educations.
You can get away with this in the computing field because it becomes clear very rapidly who can do the job and who can't. There's no faking it. So you don't need credentials to prove your worth - just show me what you can do.
The jobs that need credentials are mostly the ones that rely on appeals to authority to prove quality, because their output is too fuzzy to objectively judge.
Apr '11
Re: Naked In Japan
http://www.themysteryworld.com/2011/04/harvards-1899-entrance-exam.html
May '11
Re: Naked In Japan
How can I find the Richard Epstein video referred to in this podcast?
Sep '11
Re: Naked In Japan
Well these Young Guns certainly are effective at proving their own points: one moment lamenting the quality of US education and the next saying that they've never heard of the Greek "god" Ajax (or presumably Homer and the Iliad)
Here in Australia I was intimately familiar with the story of Ajax and Agamemnon, Paris and Hector by age 7.