Recently I've been trying to find out what the default option is, and coming from Japan this is actually much easier. The default in New Zealand is clearly buying a house, by whatever means necessary. The default in Japan is getting a job, just any job really but the better the better, and sticking with […]

For a lot of things, the starting is the easy part but it can take a while to gain motion and to sustain it. The hardest part of swimming is getting in the pool. Every time, you know that there will be that initial shock your body gets when you jump in, and that takes […]

Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching a movie called the Barkley Marathon on Netflix. I felt that the film dragged on too long for such a simple message, but it was entertaining nonetheless. The film is about the Barkley Marathon held in Tennessee where participants try to complete five 20-mile loops through the wild […]

Sometimes it can be useful to see where you sit in the pecking order so you have a more visible goal to work towards when trying to improve, but even then you’re comparing yourself to others, which is only useful at getting better than them. Once you’re there, what do you do? You have to […]

Do you want a run-of-the-mill rugby player, or would you rather someone with the X-Factor? The answer here should be obvious, but what if that player came with weaknesses that could cost them the game? Would you still take them? Actually, I would. I would prefer to have someone who has the ability to win […]

You know the universal income? Well, I was thinking of a way that I feel would be fair for someone employing me. For the past few years I’ve been sort of away from a salary or being paid per hour, not completely yet, but it’s a method that I much rather prefer. I don’t like […]

151 years ago, at the dawn of the Meiji Restoration, having admitted defeat the Shonai Clan were expecting a harsh punishment, such as the forfeiture of land, a large fine, or the sending of troops and officials to other parts of the country, to be dealt to them at the hands of Kuroda Kiyotaka, a […]