Life Goes on in Sasayama

They say you can boil a frog if you heat the water slowly enough. It took two generations after the launch of the first smartphone, and now most of the human population, dopamine addicted and spiritless, live out their days in virtual reality, bodies parked in pods inside Neta Homes, with only a small number of oldworlders still scraping by in the deserted streets of formerly overpopulated cities. On a hot summer day in Osaka, what remains of public utilities suddenly grinds to a halt, and debilitating depression plagues the oldworlders as they try to investigate the downfall of humanity and forge forward despite misery and pain, to rediscover the power of human connection, love, and the simple skill of looking each other in the eye.

Eye Contact and Smile

I'm hardly a Starbucks fan. I like medium roasts, but the brew they serve is as bitter as charcoal. I like variety and choice, but Starbucks' aggressive expansion stifles competition and pushes other cafes out of business. But if I had to find one thing I like about them, it's the staff. They always look you in the eye, always make an effort to interact with you like a thinking, living human being, and you can really feel this difference. Goodness, if the dehumanization of retail continues along its current trajectory, and Starbucks remains committed to having a human behind the counter, I think I just might become a fan of that abysmal-tasting bitter brew. Though who knows, as I type this, on the cream and sugar counter next to me a stack of "mobile order & pay" pamphlets advertises the purported benefits of craning your neck over your phone for yet another use case. Will Starbucks eventually also have self-order counters?

Happy New Year

I finished building the second, permanent version of the wood fired oven, and demolished the test version that's served me for a year. At a 105 cm in diameter, the new one is twice the floor space and so four times the volume of the test version, so it fires very differently, takes longer to preheat, consumes more fuel. It's also considerably more ergonomic, I can cook in it without bending over (the tester was just 40 cm above ground level), and the new concrete kitchen counters nearby are a treat to work on. Just before the end of the year I was at Kohnan, my favourite home centre, and was sad to discover that they too installed self checkout registers. I lined up for the old school cashier line, and a helpful clerk overseeing the area told me that the self checkout registers are available immediately, with no line. "I hate self-checkout registers," I shot back at her, probably more bitterly than was called for, but she kept her smile and nodded. Solid training. Iro

On a Cold Winter Day

There's nothing quite like a bowl of hot niku-udon to warm up your body and soul on a cold winter day. Chewy fresh wheat udon noodles, steaming hot katsuo-bushi dashi, thinly sliced sweet stewed beef and onions, finished with a sprinkling of scallions. Simplicity and perfection.

Yamada Taro

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