Japanese TV

I was looking at DirecTV for satellite service, since the lone cable company around here, Charter, sucks. However, DirecTV doesn't carry Japanese programming; furthermore, they seem to have a bunch of Asian countries, e.g. China, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, etc., other than Japan. That offended me in a way.

So I looked into Dish Network, and they do have Japanese channels. $25/mo is a bit steep, but it would be pretty cool to get. Maybe after we unpack more of the boxes piled up in the living room of the new house—and set up the TV!

The Website is Down

Samir sent me a link to this video on Break.com which is friggin' hilarious. From the comments, I found the full version of the video.

Building an MP5

There was a post on HKPro a while ago about building an MP5.

It's about $1200 to fold the flat into a receiver, assemble the gun add a paddle magazine release and finish the gun in original HK style black. Every part on the gun is factory HK. Basically what you get from Adam is an MP5 with a big chunk out of the receiver missing so that it is no longer a firearm. All the parts are there minus the receiver. The receiver flat is produced on HK tooling by a company licensed by HK to produce MP5's. Once the flat is turned into a receiver by a pro like Jayson at IGF, the completed gun is every bit as much an MP5 as one from Obendorf, except of course for the semi auto shelf.

Sounds way cool...except for the part about $1200+. Plus if one wants it converted to NFA (SBR or AOW), there are the additional modifications and taxes. And it still won't be a real sub gun. Ah well.

Indirect Solar Indoor Lighting

I must've seen something on this in an article on a zero-emissions building in California. There was indoor lighting that utilized solar concentrators and fiber optics to channel light indoors so that electricity wouldn't have to be used during the day.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to find out how much it costs, because that'd be pretty sweet to use in my new house. I googled "fiber optic lighting basement sunlight" and came up with a few interesting links. Unfortunately I still don't know how much this stuff costs—other than it's likely outside my price range.

Sunlight inside no direct-sunlighted rooms
Simple and bright, heliostats tap sunlight for lighting outdoor and, increasingly, indoor spaces
Sunlight Direct Hybrid Lighting: Install It, Get a 30% Federal Tax Credit
Hybrid Lighting Promises Cool, Efficient Light and More...

Fireproof Safes

So I'm looking for a fireproof (er, fire-resistant) safe for the new house, i.e. a big-ass gun safe. Of course it has to be made in the U.S., so my selection is probably limited. Here are some vendors:

Sturdy Gun Safe Manufacturing - Possibly the best value. Has minimal moving parts, a removable door, and the insulating material is ceramic and glass wool.
Sportsman Steel Safe Co. - Similar to Sturdy. Uses ceramic wool, drywall, and an air gap for insulation.
Graffunder Safe & Vault - Look to be the best, albeit the most expensive and heaviest of all. The insulator is a cement compound.
American Security - Looks pretty good, albeit expensive. Insulation is cement-based.
Fort Knox
Heritage Safe Co.
Liberty Safe - They are way overpriced, and use drywall as their insulator. Can be found at Gander Mountain.
Smith Security Safes
Hall's Safe Co.

Slashdot News

Brightnets: "Owner-Free Filesystems", distributed, public storage
How Facebook stores all those digital photos
Bjarne Stroustrup reveals C++ secrets
Metallic glass
Bad boys get more girls, fo' real. Shiz.

enysea

グリソが行くダイブショップ…かな？

Dog Tags

Yasu had asked about getting dog tags. I found a site, Military Dog Tags, that sells U.S.-made tags, and the order page is pretty nice. When Sachie and I went to Okinawa in 2006, she made a pair at a shop on Kokusai-Dori. I don't think she's ever worn them, though.